Emeritus Professor of Law
About Henry Allen Blair
Professor Blair is the Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Litigation Skills and International Dispute Resolution and a senior fellow in the Dispute Resolution Institute at Mitchell Hamline. He also serves as a Commercial Law Professor for the Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University.
Professor Blair teaches and writes primarily in the areas of arbitration, international dispute resolution, commercial law, contract law, and litigation, with a focus on law and economics. In addition, he serves as the on-site director for Mitchell Hamline’s Certificate in Global Arbitration Law and Practice program in London, and he is the faculty advisor and coach for MHSL’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court team.
Professor Blair keeps connections with the world of practice, serving as an arbitrator or mediator in commercial disputes and consulting with organizations on dispute resolution design, litigation, and commercial matters. In addition to being a Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, he is on the national roster of arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association, as well as the rosters of the London Court of International Arbitration, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and FINRA.
Professor Blair also maintains a regular pro bono practice. Recently, at the request of the ACLU, he wrote briefs to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court in a voters’ rights case, and he was appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General to the State of Minnesota to help draft a brief to the United States Supreme Court in an arbitration case. He also regularly represents or consults with other attorneys who are representing pro bono clients seeking asylum in the United States.
Education
B.F.A., magna cum laude, University of North Dakota
J.D., summa cum laude, Hamline University School of Law
LL.M., James Kent Scholar, Columbia University School of Law
J.S.D., Columbia University School of Law
Experience
Mitchell Hamline School of Law: Professor of Law, 2015–; John H. Faricy Professor of Empirical Legal Research, 2018–22; Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Litigation Skills and International Dispute Resolution, 2015–; Senior Fellow, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 2015–
Guildhall School of Business and Law, London : Metropolitan University: Professor of Commercial Law, 2021–.
Hamline University School of Law: Professor of Law, 2006–15.
Of Counsel, Greene Espel, Minneapolis, Minn., 2006–21.
Attorney, Greene Espel, Minneapolis, Minn., 2003–06.
Judicial Clerk, Judge Paul A. Magnuson, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 2001–03.
Leadership and service
Special Assistant Attorney General, Minnesota, 2021–.
Research Fellow, Columbia University Law School, J.S.D. program, 2012–13.
Visiting Scholar, Oxford University Law School, 2012–13.
Columbia Law School Commercial Law Fellow, 2007-–08.
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), 2016–.
Member, American Association of Law Schools, 2005–.
Volunteer attorney, Unemployment Compensation Appeals Project, Minnesota Bar Association, 2003–06.
Volunteer attorney, Bankruptcy and Consumer Affairs, Volunteer Lawyers Network, 2008–14.
Volunteer attorney, Asylum Project, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, 2003–.
