Professor Lincoln Davies has returned to Utah Law, where he previously served as the associate dean for academic affairs until 2019 before leaving to serve as dean at The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law.
“I am so proud of the work we did together in Ohio and the trajectory they are on, and I am so delighted to be back in my home state of Utah with this incredible faculty, staff, and leadership at S.J. Quinney College of Law. All my family lives in Utah, and it is wonderful to be with them,” Davies says. “Prior to becoming a professor, I worked at an international law firm in Washington, D.C., litigating and doing regulatory work, most heavily for energy companies but also in the chemical, communications, and rail sectors. Out of law school, I clerked on the Utah Supreme Court. Clerking for a judge is something every law student should consider.”
Beginning this fall, Davies will be teaching Civil Procedure, Administrative Law and Energy Law.
“Administrative Law is in sharp flux right now given recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and Energy Law is one of the fastest-moving and most important areas of law and policy in our world today,” he says. “I am also teaching in the Master of Legal Studies program for working professionals, which is a true joy. The MLS students bring rich and fascinating experiences to the classroom.”
Though his expertise is in energy and environmental law and policy—”and I can talk nonstop about that if you let me,” he says—Davies hopes to impart other skills in his classes as well.
“There is no question that the most important lesson every student leaves Utah Law with is the ability to engage meaningfully, analytically, and civilly across difference,” he says. “This is the core of studying the law, and it is vital to the future of our democracy.”
Davies says he is most excited to once again interact with everyone at Utah Law.
“The students at Utah Law change the world. I am so excited to be in the classroom with them,” he says. “It is an incredible privilege to be part of the state’s flagship law school, at a university with such incredible reach and impact. The community of staff, students, and faculty at Utah Law inspires me every day.”
He is also looking forward to the future of the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment: Davies and Professor Brig Daniels have been named co-directors and began their tenure July 1.
“It is a dream come true to get to lead the Stegner Center with Professor Daniels. We were law students together in the ’90s and have been friends ever since. Brig’s commitment to making the environment and the world we live in better is unsurpassed,” Davies says. “Jan Nystrom, the center’s associate director, brings excellence to everything she does. Together, we are working from the strongest foundation possible—a staggeringly powerful legacy that Professor Bob Keiter created through three decades of starting and then building the Stegner Center into what it is today. We want to continue all of that momentum—and expand and grow the center’s impact on the local, state, national, and international stages.”
When he’s not at the College of Law, you can find Professor Davies with his family and friends.
“Hiking, walking, camping, movies, eating out—anything we can do together is wonderful. My wife will tell you that I like ice cream and Coke Zero way too much. My friends will tell you that I constantly pester them to find live music. And my dog will tell you that my daily step count is pretty high,” he says. “My first love is basketball, and though I have retired from playing, I remain convinced that one day the Jazz will win the championship. (P.S. Jordan pushed off!)”