Carlsmith Ball Presented the 2025 Distinguished Gifford Lecture in Real Property

Carlsmith Ball once again sponsored the Distinguished Gifford Lecture in Real Property series.

This year’s lecturer was Professor Michael Allan Wolf, the Richard E. Nelson Eminent Scholar Chair in Local Government at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. His talk, which focused on property law as history, explored how important elements of American property law in some instances are the result of historical events and developments, and in others are responsible for setting in motion historical events and developments.

Professor Wolf has been teaching and writing for more than three decades in the areas of land-use planning, property, local government, constitutional, environmental, and urban revitalization law; and legal and constitutional history. He is the author of Powell on Real Property (17 volumes), the most prominent treatise in the area that is regularly cited by state and federal courts. His writings have also appeared in a wide variety of law and law-related journals, and his commentaries have been featured in national newspapers and on National Public Radio. Professor Wolf earned his B.A. from Emory University, his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his A.M. (history) and Ph.D. (History of American Civilization) from Harvard University.

The Distinguished Gifford Lecture series was established in 2002 by the Gifford Foundation to honor Professor of Law Emeritus David L. Callies and local attorney Jerry M. Hiatt for their work in the field of real property.