Brian T. Fitzpatrick
Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise, Professor of Law
Brian T. Fitzpatrick holds the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise at Vanderbilt Law School, where he is an award-winning teacher of Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, and Complex Litigation. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain on the Ninth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. His book The Conservative Case for Class Actions was widely praised across the political spectrum, and his empirical research on class action settlements is among the most cited in the field.
Teaching Style
Professor Fitzpatrick is known for his highly engaging and fast-paced Socratic questioning in Civil Procedure and Federal Courts. He cold-calls extensively and follows up relentlessly, pushing students to identify the precise doctrinal foundations of their arguments. Despite the intensity, students consistently praise his teaching, and he has received the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award. His classes are intellectually rigorous and often involve empirical data about how the civil justice system actually operates in practice.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Know the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and be ready to apply specific rules to hypothetical scenarios
- 2Be prepared for rapid follow-up questions that test the limits of doctrinal rules
- 3Understand the empirical realities of class action litigation, including settlement dynamics and fee structures
- 4Read both majority and dissenting opinions carefully, as Professor Fitzpatrick will probe the reasoning of each
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Harvard Law School (first in class)
- B.S., summa cum laude, Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
Notable Publications
- The Conservative Case for Class Actions (University of Chicago Press, 2019)
- An Empirical Study of Class Action Settlements and Their Fee Awards (Journal of Empirical Legal Studies)