Caveat Lector: Conflicts of Interest of ALI Members in Drafting the Restatements

The American Law Institute's reputation for impartial judgment in formulating Restatements of the Law has been compromised by conflicts of interest on the part of ALI members who vote on Restatement provisions. That is, there is a significant risk that the independent professional judgment of ALI members has been materially and adversely affected by the interests of members' clients and by the members' own interests. As a result, no judge, scholar, or student can rely on a Restatement rule or comment as representing the objective judgment of ALI members, unaffected by the partisanship of advocates who are creating precedents to protect their clients' and their own interests in future litigation