Arthur Larson Professor of Law
A native of New Jersey, Professor Underkuffler joined the Duke Law faculty in 1990. She was named Arthur Larson Distinguished Professor in 2006. She has also taught at Harvard, the University of
Pennsylvania, Georgetown, and the University of Maine. In 2003, she received the Duke Bar Association's Distinguished Teacher Award and the Faculty Scholarship Award for her book, The Idea of
Property: Its Meaning and Power (Oxford University Press, U.K.). She has published widely in the United States and abroad in the fields of property theory, constitutional law, and the role of
moral decision making in law. She has also been involved in international projects concerning property rights and regime change, and the problem of corruption and democratic governance.
Professor Underkuffler began her legal career with a clerkship in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She practiced litigation law for six years, and headed the appellate department of a large Minneapolis firm. She was appointed to the Advisory Committee for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, on which she served for several years. She has also served as special counsel in the U.S. Senate and has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Professor Underkuffler teaches Property, Land Use, Advanced Topics in Property Theory, and Federal Courts. She has also taught in the field of the administration of criminal justice.