IRVINE, Calif. (March 21, 2024) — University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law) Distinguished Professor of Law Joseph F.C. DiMento has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Membership is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board.
The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. ABF Fellows hail from nearly 40 countries and hold a wide variety of influential roles. Notable Fellows include the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor; Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts; and former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In his decades of teaching, Professor DiMento has written more than a dozen books and taught courses on a wide variety of subjects, including international law, land use and urban and regional planning, domestic and international environmental law, administrative law and regulation, and animal law. He holds joint appointments at UCI in Transportation Studies, the UCI School of Social Ecology’s Urban Planning and Policy, and Criminology, Law and Society departments, and the UCI Paul Merage School of Business. Professor DiMento also served for almost 10 years as the director of UCI’s Newkirk Center for Science and Society.
Professor DiMento’s recent book, “Polar Shift: The Arctic Sustained” (Anthem Press 2022), which is now available in Russian, addresses how to sustain the Arctic’s richness, beauty, and local and global value. The book describes programs specifically created to protect the Arctic region and presents competing ideas of how it can be improved with specific recommendations.
Professor DiMento received his B.A. in Government, from Harvard College cum laude, and obtained a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
About the ABF Fellows
The ABF Fellows serve as stewards of the American Bar Foundation, an independent, nonprofit research organization which conducts short- and long-term socio-legal research projects. The ABF’s mission is to serve the legal profession, the public, and the academy through empirical research, publications, and programs that advance justice and the understanding of law. The ABF’s research falls under one of three categories: learning and practicing law; protecting rights and accessing justice; and making and implementing law. The Foundation is committed to broad dissemination of research findings to the organized bar, scholars, and the public.
About the University of California, Irvine School of Law
The University of California, Irvine School of Law is a visionary law school that provides an innovative and comprehensive curriculum, prioritizes public service, and demonstrates a commitment to equity within the legal profession. Nearly half of all UCI Law’s J.D. graduates are people of color, and almost a third are first-generation students. At UCI Law, we are driven to improve our local, national, and global communities by grappling with important issues as scholars, as practitioners, and as teachers who are preparing the next generation of leaders. The collaborative and interdisciplinary community at UCI Law includes extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, dedicated staff, engaged alumni, and enthusiastic supporters. Connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads, and sign up for our monthly newsletter for the latest news and events at UCI Law.