Brian R. Gallini has been named dean of the Willamette University College of Law. Gallini will succeed Curtis Bridgeman who is stepping down to return to the faculty after serving as dean of the College of Law since July 2013.
Gallini is a professor of criminal law and director of distance learning initiatives at the University of Arkansas School of Law. At the School of Law, he also served for two years as senior associate dean for faculty and three years as the school’s associate dean for research and faculty development. Outside the university, he serves on ABA site-inspection teams, as an AccessLex liaison regarding student service initiatives, and is active in a number of Association of American Law Schools and Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) committees.
His scholarship, which focuses on law enforcement discretion issues in the context of interrogation methods, consent searches, and profiling, has been published in some of the nation’s top law journals. He has twice won the SEALS Call for Papers competition and was named the 2017 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award Winner. In the classroom, Gallini teaches a variety of doctrinal criminal courses, has developed seminars, taught overseas and has received the School of Law award for outstanding teaching. He is interviewed regularly by local, state, national and international media outlets to provide expert legal commentary.
“I am delighted that Brian has agreed to serve as dean of the College of Law,” said Willamette Provost Carol Long. “During the interview process, Brian had broad support from faculty, staff, and students for both his scholarship and his leadership. He brings an enthusiasm for the future of Law at Willamette, and will be a great addition to the senior leadership of the university.”
“I am thrilled to have the great privilege of serving as dean of the College of Law at this important time in its history,” Gallini said. “During my campus visit, I was impressed by the faculty, staff, and students’ shared sense of commitment to the institution and believe that through innovation and collaboration with other Willamette departments and schools, the College of Law will continue to train practice-ready lawyers and future leaders.”
Gallini holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross. He earned his JD at the University of Michigan Law School and his LL.M from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Outside of academia, Gallini served for more than a decade as the head coach for two men’s college ice hockey teams, compiling more than two-hundred wins during separate tenures with the University of Pennsylvania (2006-08) and Arkansas (2009-18). An active athlete, Gallini has also completed nearly twenty marathons.
Gallini will start in the summer of 2020 and will be joined in Salem by his wife, Beth, and two sons, Braxton and Caden.
About the Willamette University College of Law
The College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon at Willamette University, the oldest university in the western United States. Willamette Law boasts an innovative program designed to prepare leaders in government, private practice, and business with the lawyering skills needed in the 21st Century. In recent years, outside industry watchers such as Moody’s and The National Jurist Magazine have recognized Willamette Law for its positive job placement results. Willamette lawyers are the best dealmakers, problem solvers, community leaders, and change-makers in the most innovative and exciting region in the country. Our location — nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley and across the street from the Oregon State Capitol, Supreme Court and many state agencies — is an advantage that cannot be matched anywhere in the region.