Michael Perino Appointed Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship

September 07, 2011

Michael Perino, the Dean George W. Matheson Professor of Law, has been named the School of Law’s new Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship.

In announcing the appointment, Dean Michael A. Simons praised Professor Perino’s accomplishments as a scholar and a teacher. “Mike Perino is an outstanding scholar whose work includes everything from complex statistical analyses for policy makers to doctrinal treatises for practitioners and compelling histories for popular audiences. He is also a dedicated institution builder.” All of which makes Professor Perino well qualified to develop strategies that will raise the scholarly profile of the Law School, to nurture and advise junior faculty members, and to help create an intellectual culture that will foster excellence and productivity in scholarship. “I am looking forward to working with Professor Perino on our shared mission to improve the scholarly reputation of the law school,” Dean Simons added. The position, which was created in 2005, is designed to rotate among tenured faculty members.

Dean Simons also thanked Professor Paul F. Kirgis for his work as Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship over the past three years.“Paul Kirgis has worked tremendously hard in this position, dedicating himself to advancing our scholarly culture, promoting our faculty’s activities, and supporting our newest faculty members,” he said.  During his service as Associate Dean, Professor Kirgis has also been instrumental in founding The Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution and in expanding the Law School’s dispute resolution program. “I thank Professor Kirgis for his exemplary service,” Dean Simons said, “I am grateful that he will continue his work as Faculty Chair of the Carey Center.”

As Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, Professor Perino will be broadly responsible for facilitating and coordinating faculty scholarly activities, for publicizing faculty scholarship, and for promoting productivity and excellence in faculty scholarship. Specific activities will include coordinating the planning of academic conferences, faculty workshops, and other opportunities for scholarly exchange, advising junior faculty members on scholarship issues, and advising the Dean on matters relating to faculty scholarship. ” “We have an incredibly strong and vibrant academic community at St. John’s,” Professor Perino said. “It is an honor and a privilege to take on this role.”

Professor Perino, who joined the St. John’s faculty in 1998, teaches Business Organizations and Securities Regulation. He is the author of The Hellhound of Wall Street: How Ferdinand Pecora’s Investigation of the Great Crash Forever Changed American Finance (Penguin Press 2010). The book received the Citi Private Bank Financial History of the Year prize and was named as one of the best business books of 2010 by Bloomberg/Business Week and the Library Journal. Professor Perino is also the author of numerous articles and monographs on securities regulation, securities fraud, and class action litigation.

Professor Perino received his LL.M. degree from Columbia Law School, where he was valedictorian, a James Kent Scholar, and the recipient of the Walter Gellhorn Prize for outstanding proficiency in legal studies. He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Prior to coming to St. John's, Professor Perino was a Lecturer and Co-Director of the Roberts Program in Law, Business, and Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School. He has also been a Visiting Professor at Cornell and Columbia Law Schools. He lives in Leonia, New Jersey with his wife and children.