Earl Warren DeLano Professor of Law; Professor, Law
About
Since joining Michigan Law in 2003, Professor Laura N. Beny has taught Corporate Finance, Enterprise Organization, International Finance, The Public Corporation, Law and Development, and Law and Finance. In Fall 2018, she will teach a course that she custom-developed entitled, “Africa in the Global Legal System,” the first of its kind among U.S. law schools. This novel course will integrate her research and teaching interests, which span Africa, law, economics, finance/capital markets, international development, and political economy. The course will equip students to embark upon legal, policy business, and/or non-profit careers that engage with the African continent from legal and strategic perspectives.
Her research has been published in the American Economic Review, American Law and Economics Review, Journal of Corporation Law, and Harvard Business Law Review, among others, and has been cited in numerous print and digital media, including The Economist, The Age (Australia), and Global Risk Regulator, and has been referenced in congressional testimony. She is co-editor of the book Sudan's Killing Fields: Political Violence and Fragmentation (Red Sea Press, 2014). Professor Beny has also published many opinion pieces on Africa, particularly Sudan and South Sudan, in various international media, including Newsweek International, Africa.com, and Al Jazeera.
In 2007-2008, she served as a legal consultant to the Government of Southern Sudan prior to its independence from Sudan in 2011. In 2015, Professor Beny was elected and served a two-year term on the executive committee of the University of Michigan International Institute’s African Studies Center. Before joining U-M Law she practiced at Debevoise & Plimpton, a global law firm based in New York City, where she provided legal counsel to both business and pro bono clients. She has been appointed and is currently serving as associate director of the U-M African Studies Center for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Professor Beny earned her MA and PhD in economics from Harvard University, her JD from Harvard Law School, and her BA in economics from Stanford University.
