معرفی
Fredrick Vars is the Robert W. Hodgkins Chairholder of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he joined the faculty in summer 2008 after six years of legal practice at Miller Shakman & Beem LLP in Chicago. His practice focused on civil litigation with an emphasis on legal malpractice. Professor Vars serves as a prominent scholar in mental health law and empirical legal analysis, with his research primarily centered on innovative approaches to reducing gun suicides through voluntary restraint mechanisms.
Professor Vars received his A.B. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served on the editorial board of The Yale Law Journal. His professional experience includes clerking for Judge Bruce M. Selya on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge Joan B. Gottschall on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as well as serving as a Fellow in the Center for the Study of Corporate Law at Yale Law School.
Professor Vars' research has focused extensively on gun suicide prevention through innovative legal mechanisms like voluntary do-not-sell lists, symptom-based gun control, and libertarian approaches to firearm regulation. His work bridges legal theory with practical public health interventions, particularly examining the intersection of mental health law and constitutional rights. He has developed the concept of allowing individuals to temporarily restrict their own ability to purchase firearms during mental health crises, an approach that has gained significant traction with three states (Washington, Virginia, and Utah) enacting related laws and a bipartisan federal bill (HR 8361) pending in Congress.
His scholarly output demonstrates consistent engagement with critical legal issues, particularly in the areas of mental health, property law, and decedents' estates. Professor Vars has published in leading journals including JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Iowa Law Review, among others, establishing himself as a thought leader in mental health law and empirical legal studies.
- Honorable Mention Award for Irregular Kelo Takings: A Potential Response to Natural Disasters at CELS
Professor Vars actively engages with policymakers and the public through his website StopGunSuicide.com, where he compiles materials from his ongoing suicide prevention project. His work has been endorsed by major organizations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Education Association, and Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. The practical impact of his research is evident in the legislative developments across multiple states implementing versions of his proposed voluntary restraint mechanisms for firearm purchases.
Professor Vars teaches Property, Decedents' Estates, and Mental Health Law at the University of Alabama School of Law, bringing his extensive practical experience and scholarly expertise into the classroom. His courses likely integrate his research on mental health law and empirical analysis, providing students with both theoretical frameworks and practical applications of legal principles in addressing complex societal issues.
