News—Recent Past Postings

Professor Scott Burnham accepts position at Gonzaga University School of Law

Posted December 14, 2009

Professor Burnham in 1981, his first year at UM.	Professor Burnham (left) practices his poker skills with a friend in 2009.

Professor Scott J. Burnham has accepted an offer to be the Frederick N. and Barbara T. Curley Professor in Commercial Law at the Gonzaga University School of Law beginning in the fall of 2010. He is the second holder of the chair, replacing Professor Linda Rusch, a leader in commercial law reform, who is retiring.

Professor Burnham, a/k/a "Mister Contracts," has been on the UM Law faculty for 29 years, principally teaching Contracts, Commercial Law, and Copyright Law. He has also taught a class in Poker for the Mathematics Department. His tenure at UM has been interrupted by many visiting positions. He has visited at the law schools at Santa Clara, Tennessee, Western New England, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Hawaii, Memphis, and Ohio State. He has also had a regular summer teaching assignment at Cardozo in New York City. Finally, he has had Fulbright fellowships in Uruguay and Vietnam, and has taught in Lithuania.

"Needless to say, I am saddened to leave Montana after so many years," Burnham says. "I have pursued a professional career here and have raised a family here. One of the strengths of Montana is the opportunity to work closely with the bench and bar, and I hope I leave having made some incremental improvement in the quality of law practice in the state. Now I am looking forward to new challenges. Gonzaga has established a Commercial Law Center and has the resources and the commitment to allow me to undertake some new projects. I hope to continue working with you in the future, so don't hesitate to keep in touch."