Clayton Gillette

Clayton Gillette is the Max E. Greenberg Professor of Contract Law at New York University School of Law, where he has been a faculty member since 2000. His expertise spans Commercial Law, Contracts, and Local Government Law, with significant contributions to understanding municipal bankruptcy, international sales law, and urban governance.

Education:

• JD, University of Michigan Law School, 1975
• BA, Amherst College, 1972

Professor Gillette's research explores diverse areas including local redistribution, contract design, long-term contracts, the political economy of international sales law, standard form contracts, municipal bankruptcy, and relations between localities and their neighbors. His work bridges theoretical legal scholarship with practical applications in urban management and commercial transactions. Prior to NYU, he was the Perre Bowen Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, he clerked for Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the US Court of Appeals.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on the intersection of urban policy and legal frameworks, particularly examining how cities manage fiscal crises and the legal implications of remote work on urban economies. His scholarship shows expertise in both domestic and international commercial law contexts, with recurring themes of contractual design, risk allocation, and institutional responses to economic challenges.

Professor Gillette has served as Director of the Marron Institute of Urban Management at NYU and has consulted in litigation and arbitrations on sophisticated financial contracts and municipal bond defaults. He has supervised students working on governance structures to increase fiscal stability for the Office of the Emergency Manager of the City of Detroit and has taught courses including Commercial Sales Law, Contracts, Local Government Law, and Modern Payment Systems.