Samuel Bray
John N. Matthews Professor of Law
Law in the United States usually decides cases according to rules, and the winner usually gets money. But there are predictable problems, like people exploiting the letter of the law unjustly or a case where money is not the right remedy. To better achieve the aim of justice, law has its own "backup system" to deal with those problems, called the law of equity. Professor Samuel Bray's research explores the law of equity and its enduring contributions to the work of courts in the United States.
He says he was drawn to the law of equity because of its powerful remedies, which instead of just awarding money often require defendants to change their conduct.
"A justice of the Supreme Court once said 'the rule of law [is] a law of rules.' But the law of equity reminds us that the law is more than just rules," Bray says. "Legal rules need to be oriented toward the ultimate aim of justice. And not just that, but courts also need to watch out for predictable ways rules can go wrong and be exploited. Attentive to the moral dimension of the law, the Notre Dame Law School is an incredible place to work out the implications of equity for the law today."
