Michael Heller
Lawrence A. Wien Professor of Real Estate Law
Michael Heller is the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of Real Estate Law at Columbia Law School, where he has taught since 2002 and served as Vice Dean for Intellectual Life. He introduced the concept of the 'tragedy of the anticommons' in a landmark 1998 Harvard Law Review article that transformed scholarly debate about property and innovation. Before Columbia, he taught at the University of Michigan Law School, where he received the L. Hart Wright Award for excellence in teaching. His work ranges across real estate development, corporate governance, biomedical research policy, and post-socialist economic transition.
Teaching Style
Professor Heller is an engaging and dynamic lecturer who uses vivid real-world examples to bring property law concepts to life. He employs the Socratic method but in an accessible, conversational manner that helps students see how abstract ownership rules shape everyday life. He regularly cold-calls students and expects them to apply property doctrines to contemporary disputes over resources, land, and innovation.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Understand the core property frameworks — bundle of rights, exclusion vs. governance — and be ready to apply them to novel fact patterns
- 2Read about the tragedy of the anticommons concept and how it connects to modern gridlock in areas like biomedical research and real estate
- 3Be prepared to discuss policy trade-offs between promoting ownership and preventing fragmentation
- 4Think about how property rules affect innovation and economic development — Heller loves examples from tech, pharma, and real estate
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Stanford Law School
- A.B., Harvard University
Notable Publications
- Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives (2021)
- The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives (2008)
- The Tragedy of the Anticommons (Harvard Law Review, 1998)
Research Interests
More Professors at Columbia Law School
Constitutional Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, First Amendment
Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Federal Courts
Antitrust Law, Intellectual Property, Internet Law, Media Law
Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Political Theory, Punishment and Society
Computers, Privacy and the Law, Legal History, Law in the Internet Society
Financial Regulation, Corporations, Banking Law, Securities Regulation