Rate My Professor Howard Brill

Howard Brill serves as University Professor and Vincent Foster Professor of Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, a position reflecting his expertise in Law. He joined the faculty in July 1975 after earning a baccalaureate degree in history and political science from Duke University, a J.D. from the University of Florida in 1970, and an LL.M. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Prior to his appointment at Arkansas, Brill taught legal writing at the Universities of Florida and Illinois, practiced law with a small firm in Rock Island, Illinois, and clerked for a Florida appellate judge. Over nearly five decades, he has taught courses in professional responsibility, civil procedure, remedies, domestic relations, Arkansas constitutional law, and specialized topics like baseball and the law. In 2005, he was promoted to University Professor, and he served as interim dean during 2004-2005. Brill also acted as faculty athletics representative to the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association for fifteen years.

Brill's scholarly contributions are substantial, including authorship of Arkansas Professional and Judicial Ethics (9th ed. 2018) and co-authorship with Christian H. Brill of Law of Damages (6th ed. 2014, with 2023 supplement) in the 1 Arkansas Practice Series. His publications in Arkansas Law Notes and other venues cover diverse areas such as equity remedies, judicial conduct, and unique legal intersections, with notable works including 'Baseball Mascots and the Law' (2016), 'Take Me Out to the Hearing: Major League Baseball Players Before Congress' (2012), 'The Maxims of Equity' (1993), 'Specific Performance in Arkansas' (1995), and 'Equity and the Restitutionary Remedies: Constructive Trust, Equitable Lien, and Subrogation' (1992). From September 2015 to December 2016, he served as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Brill chaired the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee that drafted the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct of 2009 and contributed to earlier ethics codes. His enduring impact on legal education and the Arkansas bench and bar was honored with the 2023 Law School Dean's Circle Award for dedication to students and recognition of fifty years of service in 2025.