Jeff Kinsler

Biography

Jeffrey Kinsler served as Founding Dean of Belmont University College of Law from 2009-2014 during which time the College of Law received provisional ABA approval. Prior thereto, he was a Professor of Law and Senior Scholar at Elon University. From 2005-2007, he was Dean of Appalachian School of Law, which he led to full ABA approval during his tenure.

The winner of ten teaching awards, Dean Kinsler has taught at several law schools in the United States and Australia. He also has served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Queensland in Australia. Dean Kinsler was a partner with Katten, Muchin & Zavis in Chicago, “of counsel” and associate at Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago and, more recently, “of counsel” at the Kingsport, Tennessee law firm of Hunter, Smith & Davis. 

A member of the Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, and Wisconsin bars, he has co-authored several books and has published numerous law review articles in journals at law schools such as the University of North Carolina, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University. 

He obtained his undergraduate degree with honors from Ball State University, graduated first in his class at Valparaiso University School of Law, and obtained a master of laws degree from Yale Law School. In 2006, he was named a “Virginia Leader in the Law” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, and he was elected to the American Law Institute in 2009.

Areas of expertise: Legal education, the Bar Exam

PUBLICATIONS

Kinsler, Jeffrey and Usman, Jeffrey. Law Schools, Bar Passage, and Under and Over-Performing Expectations, 36 Quinnipiac Law Review 183 (2018). | SSRN

Kinsler, Jeffrey. Is Bar Exam Failure a Harbinger of Professional Discipline?, 91 St. John’s Law Review 883 (2017). | SSRN

Kinsler, Jeffrey and Hudson, Jr., David L., The Secret to 85% First-Time Bar Passage Rates (2017). 40 N.C. Cent. L. Rev. 92 (2017). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Jay E. Grenig, Federal Discovery and Disclosure Practice (4th ed. 2016).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler et al., Virginia Practice: Civil Discovery (2015).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Rumors of the Legal Profession’s Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated, 11 Nashville B.J. 6 (2011).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Jay E. Grenig, Federal Discovery and Disclosure Practice (3^rded. 2010).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, The Unmerry Widow: Spousal Disinheritance and Life Insurance in North Carolina, 87 N.C. L. Rev. 1869 (2009). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Jay E. Grenig, Illinois Practice: Civil Discovery (2d ed. 2009).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Arthur Andersen and the Temple of Doom, 37 S.W. L. Rev. 97 (2008). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Has the Internal Revenue Service's Challenge of Semi-Naked Lapsing Powers Become Frivolous? (2006). 15 Widener L.J. 299. | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Jay E. Grenig, Wisconsin Practice: Civil Discovery (2d ed. 2005).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Circuit-Specific Application of the Internal Revenue Code:  An Unconstitutional Tax, 81 Denv. U. L. Rev. 113 (2004). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Tax Planning and Tax Litigation in the Same Firm: An Inherent Conflict of Interest, 1 Prac. Tax Law. 51 (2003).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Tax Taxation without Explanation: The Federal Gift Tax, 2 Appalachian J. L. 15 (2003). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, A Plain Meaning Paradigm, 13 J. Int'l Tax'n 12 (2002).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, The Virginia Bar: Law Professors Need Not Apply, 16 Va. Law. Wkly. 1286 (2002).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Correspondence Law School Grads May Practice in Wisconsin, 74 Wis. Law. 4 (2001).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, The LSAT Myth, 45 St. Louis U. Pub. L. Rev. 393 (2001), reprinted in Before the Paper Chase: Scholarship on Law School Preparation and Admissions(Tim Alan Garrison & Frank Guliuzza, eds., 2010). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Joseph McCarthy, The Law Student, 85 Marq. L. Rev. 467 (2001). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Anne R. Keyes MacIver, Demystifying Spoliation of Evidence, 34 Tort & Ins. L. J. 761 (1999).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, A Comparative Proposal to Reform America’s Gift Tax Annual Exclusion, 30 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 3 (1997). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, The Taxation of Gifts and Bequests in Australia: A Prototype for Transfer Tax Reform in the U.S.?, 6 Pac. Rim L. & Pol'y J. 305 (1997). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Requests for Admission in Wisconsin Procedure: Civil Litigation’s Double-Edged Sword, 78 Marq. L. Rev. 625 (1995), cited byLuckett v. Bodner, 769 N.W.2d 504 (Wis. 2009). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, When the Check Is in the Mail: Taking Your Chances on the Relation-Back Doctrine, 10 Prac. Tax Law. 27 (1995).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Politically Incorrect, 48 SMU L. Rev. 411 (1995). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler Et Al., A Practical Guide to Wisconsin Evidence (1995).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler Et Al., Wisconsin Rules of Evidence with Objections (1995).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Motor Freight Brokers: A Tale of Federal Regulatory Pandemonium, 14 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. 289 (1994). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Evidence Handbook, 3 Griffith L. Rev. 191 (1994) (reviewing Gerald McGinley and Vicki Waye, Evidence Handbook (1994)).  

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Sensible Application of Stare Decisis or a Rewriting of the Constitution: An Examination of Helling V. Mckinney (1994). 13 St. Louis U. Pub. L. Rev. 705. | SSRN 

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Location of Party-Depositions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 37 Res Gestae 358 (1994).     

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, The Proper Location of Party-Depositions Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 23 Mem. St. U. L. Rev. 763 (1993). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Native American Restricted Allotments: A Surviving Spouse's Elective Share Rights. 20 Ohio N.U. L. Rev. 263 (1993). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Planning and Environment Law in Queensland, 19 Yale Journal of International Law 289 (1994) (reviewing W.D. Duncan, Planning and Environment Law in Queensland (1993)).

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Targeted Direct-Mail Solicitation: Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association under Attack, 25 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 1 (1993). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Is More than Offensive, It Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 27 Val. U. L. Rev. 387 (1993). | SSRN

Jeffrey S. Kinsler & Gregory D. Hanley, Protecting High-Ranking Corporate Officials from Unnecessary and Harassing Depositions, 40 Fed. Law. 296 (1993).