معرفی
Eric C. Chaffee is the John C. Hutchins Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he also serves as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Strategic Programs, Director of the Compliance Risk Management and Financial Integrity Institute, and Co-Director of the Center for Business Law. An elected member of the American Law Institute and Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, he is a leading scholar in business law, securities regulation, taxation, and the law of emerging technologies.
Education
- Juris Doctor, University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Bachelor of Arts, The Ohio State University
Research Interests
Professor Chaffee’s scholarship is organized around three core pillars:
- The evolving governance of business organizations, with emphasis on choice-of-entity implications for purpose, fiduciary duties, and stakeholder accountability.
- The regulation of securities markets and investment vehicles, including the intersection of federal securities law with FinTech, cryptocurrencies, and virtual worlds.
- The integration of emerging technologies—artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics—into legal compliance and transactional practice.
Across these domains he employs interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from behavioral economics, corporate theory, and comparative regulation to advance both doctrinal understanding and practical reform.
Publication Landscape
Spanning more than two decades, his work has appeared in flagship journals such as the Boston College Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, UC Davis Law Review, and Washington & Lee Law Review, as well as specialty publications at Stanford, NYU, Penn, and Michigan. The fifteen most recent articles (2017-2025) reveal intensifying focus on the Roberts Court’s securities jurisprudence, the regulatory challenges posed by cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance, and the theoretical underpinnings of the business trust.
Professional Honors & Leadership
- Elected Member, American Law Institute
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Chair, AALS Sections on Business Associations; Nonprofit & Philanthropy Law; Internet & Computer Law (past); Securities Regulation (past)
- Co-Founder & Executive Committee Member, National Business Law Scholars Conference
- Repeated service as Chair or Member on ABA accreditation site-visit teams
Advising, Grants & Outreach
As Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Strategic Programs, Professor Chaffee oversees all non-J.D. offerings, including the Compliance & Risk Management Program that reports 100 % job placement. He has previously served as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at two other institutions, curating workshop series, symposia, and extramural grant initiatives. He is regularly retained as an expert witness in high-stakes corporate litigation and provides board-level counsel to tax-exempt organizations.
Laboratories & Teams
He directs the Compliance Risk Management and Financial Integrity Institute, an interdisciplinary hub that partners with regulators, industry, and technologists to design compliance frameworks for financial institutions, FinTech start-ups, and multinational corporations.
