James R. Copland is the director of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Policy, which seeks to communicate thoughtful ideas on civil justice reform to real decision-makers. Mr. Copland serves as managing editor of the Institute's PointOfLaw.com, a web magazine that brings together information and opinion on the U.S. litigation system; and project manager for the Institute's Trial Lawyers, Inc. series of publications that examine the size, scope, and inner workings of America's lawsuit industry.
Mr. Copland has published opinion columns in national, local, and online newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The National Law Journal, Investors Business Daily, and National Review Online. He has appeared on various television and radio shows, including those on Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, C-SPAN, and NPR. He has testified before Congress and is a regular speaker and conference participant discussing tort reform issues.
Prior to joining the Manhattan Institute, Mr. Copland was a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in New York. He had earlier served as a law clerk for Hon. Ralph K. Winter on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has been a director of two privately held manufacturing companies since 1997.
Mr. Copland received JD and MBA degrees from Yale, where he was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics and an editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation. He also has an MSc in politics of the world economy from the London School of Economics and a BA in economics with highest distinction and highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
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