Richard J. Ross

Richard J. Ross is the David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he holds a joint appointment in the College of Law and History Department. He serves as co-director of the Illinois Program in Legal History and founder/director of the Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History. His academic career spans multiple institutions, having previously held positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and visiting appointments at Harvard, NYU, University of Pennsylvania, Hebrew University, and Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Ross earned his BA (1984), JD (1989), and PhD in History (1998) from Yale University, where he served as symposium editor and senior editor of the Yale Law Journal. His interdisciplinary training bridges legal and historical scholarship, providing a unique perspective on the development of law in historical context.

Professor Ross's research focuses on three primary areas: the development of early American law in comparative context, the political and intellectual history of legal communications, and the intertwined influence of law and religion on governance. His comparative approach examines American law through the lenses of Spanish New World empire and British Ireland, revealing how America came to see itself as a law-centered society. He has made significant contributions to our understanding of legal pluralism, particularly in colonial contexts where settler law interacted with indigenous legal traditions. His work on legal communications explores how law was transmitted and understood across imperial boundaries, while his research on law and religion investigates how theological concepts shaped legal thought in early modern England and America.

Professor Ross's scholarly output demonstrates consistent engagement with comparative legal history, particularly focusing on the early modern period (c. 1492-1815). His publications reveal a sophisticated understanding of how legal systems developed differently yet interconnectedly across the British and Spanish empires. A recurring theme in his work is the concept of legal intelligibility - how different legal cultures understood and negotiated with each other's legal principles. His recent work increasingly emphasizes the role of indigenous peoples in shaping colonial legal systems, challenging traditional narratives of imperial legal dominance.

• Honorable mention for the 1999 Sutherland Prize from the American Society for Legal History
• 2013 Carroll P. Hurd Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship from the University of Illinois College of Law

As director of the Illinois Legal History Program and founder of the Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History, Professor Ross has created important platforms for scholarly exchange. The biennial Symposium brings together law professors, historians, and social scientists to explore comparative legal history topics, traditionally meeting at the Newberry Library in Chicago. His leadership in these initiatives has fostered interdisciplinary collaboration and advanced the field of legal history. Professor Ross has also received research fellowships from Yale Law School, Yale's Institute for Social and Policy Studies, the American Historical Association, the Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, and the Spencer Foundation.

Professor Ross directs the Illinois Legal History Program and the Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History, creating collaborative spaces for scholars examining law in historical context. His work bridges multiple academic communities, connecting legal scholars with historians and bringing together specialists in British, Spanish, and indigenous legal traditions.