Scott Altman

Scott Altman is an expert in jurisprudence, property and family law. In his role as professor at USC Gould School of Law, he teaches Family Law, Property, Jurisprudence and Community Property. He joined the USC Gould faculty in 1988, served as associate dean from 1995 to 2006 and as vice dean from 2007 to 2016.

Altman’s recent research focuses on child custody and divorce issues. He has published articles on judicial candor, commodification, coercion, blackmail, threats to litigate child custody, and equality norms applied to child custody. His publications include “A Theory of Child Support” (International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2003); “Divorcing Threats and Offers” (Law & Philosophy, 1996); and “Beyond Candor” (Michigan Law Review, 1990).

Altman earned his BA’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served as developments chair for the Harvard Law Review. He was a clerk to Judge Dorothy Nelson of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 1987 to 1988, and he joined the USC Law faculty as assistant professor in 1988. He was named the Virginia S. and Fred H. Bice Professor of Law in 1997.

See Altman’s working papers on the Social Science Research Network http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=17336

Articles and Book Chapters

• "Taking Precautions when Shaping a Child's Future." UMKC Law Review (forthcoming) - (SSRN)
• "Reinterpreting the Right to an Open Future: From Autonomy to Authenticity," Law and Philosophy (forthcoming 2018). - (SSRN)
• "Parental Control Rights," in Philosophical Foundations of Children’s and Family Law, Lucinda Fergusun & Elizabeth Brake, eds, (Oxford University Press, 2018).
    - (SSRN)
• "The Pursuit of Intimacy and Parental Rights," in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law (Andrei Marmor, ed., Routledge, 2012). - (PDF)
• "A Theory of Child Support," 17 Int’l J.L. Pol’y & Fam. 173 (2003). - (Hein)
• "Grateful Victims" (draft)
• "Should Child Custody Rules be Fair?," 35 U. Louisville Journal Family Law 325 (1996). - (Hein)
• "Divorcing Threats and Offers," 15 Law & Phil. 209 (1997).
• "Lurking in the Shadow," 68 Southern California Law Review 493 (1995). - (Hein)
• "A Patchwork Theory of Blackmail," 141 U. Pennsylvania Law Review 1639 (1993). - (Hein)
• "(Com)Modifying Experience," 65 Southern California Law Review 293 (1991). - (Hein)
• "Beyond Candor," 89 Michigan Law Review 296 (1990). - (Hein)
• "Case Comment, Posadas v. Tourism Co.," 100 Harvard Law Review 172 (1987). - (Hein)
• "Note, The Inalienable Rights of Surrogate Mothers," 99 Harvard Law Review 1936 (1986). - (Hein)

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTTV-TV
January 16, 2019
Re: Camille Gear Rich

Camille Gear Rich was interviewed about the university's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week. "Everyone has some issue of difference that they're negotiating," said Gear Rich. "if we can use those things as a bridge to start having these broader conversations, then everyone feels included and feels like they have something to offer."

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

Dorothy S. Lund
November, 2018

"Sexual Harassment and Corporate Law", Berkeley Sustainable Business and Investment Forum Academic Roundtable, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.

Daniel Klerman
November, 2018

“Contingent Fees and Access to Justice,” Faculty Colloquium, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, IN.

Daniel Klerman
November, 2018

"Contingent Fees and Access to Justice" (with Eric Helland), Civil Procedure Workshop, Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, CA.