Jeffrey Evans Stake

Jeffrey Evans Stake is the Robert A. Lucas Chair and Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. He has been recognized with multiple prestigious teaching awards including the Indiana University Trustees' Teaching Award (2012, 2001) and the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award (1995). Stake maintains active affiliations with the Indiana University Cognitive Science Program and has held visiting appointments at numerous institutions including Illinois, Colorado, Georgetown, Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), the Max Planck Institute, and Peking University School of Transnational Law.

Professor Stake's interdisciplinary research focuses primarily on property law, but also spans constitutional law, divorce law, and legal education methodology. His work uniquely applies evolutionary analysis to legal questions, arguing that some rules of property reflect basic human instincts. This approach was notably published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the oldest continuously publishing scientific journal in the world. Stake has also made significant contributions to understanding law school grading systems, developing widely used grading software for faculty.

His scholarly work shows a consistent pattern of interdisciplinary exploration, particularly at the intersection of law, economics, and biological sciences. Over the past two decades, Stake has increasingly focused on how evolutionary psychology and behavioral biology can inform legal analysis, while maintaining his foundational work in property law. His research on law school rankings has been particularly influential in legal education debates.

• Indiana University Trustees' Teaching Award (2012)
• Indiana University Trustees' Teaching Award (2001)
• Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award (1995)

Professor Stake has advised numerous students and collaborated extensively with colleagues including Owen D. Jones and Erin O'Hara O'Connor on interdisciplinary projects. His work on grading systems has provided practical tools for legal educators while contributing to theoretical discussions about assessment in professional education. Stake has also been active in professional organizations, serving as past president and founding vice president of SEAL (Society for Evolutionary Analysis in Law) and co-founding the Midwest Law and Economics Association.