Sherman J. Clark, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law, joined the Michigan Law faculty in 1995 and teaches courses in torts, evidence, and sports law. His current research examines the ways in which certain legal rules and institutions can serve as fora for the construction and articulation of community meaning and identity. In this vein, he has written about institutions and practices ranging from direct democracy to the jury to criminal procedure. Another line of Prof. Clark's research focuses on the nature and normative status of persuasive legal argument. In addition to his teaching and research interests, Prof. Clark served as an advisor to lawyers for Wayne County, Michigan, and the City of Detroit in their efforts to hold gun manufacturers liable for allegedly negligent distribution practices. The legal theory he articulated, known as the "willful blindness" theory, focused on the manufacturers' alleged knowing exploitation of a thriving secondary market in the indirect sale of firearms to felons and minors. He is a graduate of Towson State University and Harvard Law School, and practiced in Washington, D.C., with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.