Login | November 14, 2024
Longtime Akron Law professor looks back on his career
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: January 26, 2024
When Professor Jack Sahl first joined the faculty of The University of Akron School of Law in 1991, he had no idea he would spend the rest of his teaching career at the institution or that he would be given the chance to lead its nationally known Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility.
But that is exactly how things played out, with Sahl also making a name for himself as a well-known author and national expert witness in the areas of professional responsibility and ethics along the way.
After more than 30 years at the school, last May the Joseph G. Miller Professor of Law officially retired, taking on emeritus status.
“The most meaningful part of my career was my contact with the students who took my classes,” said Sahl. “I was a demanding professor and anyone who took my classes had to be prepared and bring their ‘A’ game to class.
“I think for the most part that is what happened,” said Sahl. “We always had good classroom discussions. I tried to share my practical experiences with my students.
“Many of my students later told me that my classes really helped them prepare to practice and I am very proud of that.”
Sahl said he was also honored to play a key role in the founding and contribute to the Miller Becker Center for Professional Responsibility for over 25 years.
“I worked with Bill Becker in the early ‘90s in establishing a statewide program discussing lawyer ethics and professional discipline,” said Sahl. “I think that together we were successful in providing programs that did an excellent job of educating lawyers on their ethical obligations to their clients, the bar and the public.
“The center now features a national bi-annual lecture series that is very well attended.”
In an email, Akron Law Dean Emily Janoski-Haehlen stated, “Professor Jack Sahl has been a guiding beacon at The University of Akron School of Law for over 30 years.
“Not only was he a dedicated scholar and professor, but he developed a national reputation in the areas of professional responsibility and ethics. With unwavering dedication, Jack has sculpted the moral compass of countless aspiring legal minds at Akron Law.
“His profound contributions resonate beyond the classroom, leaving an indelible mark on the ethical landscape of our legal community.”
His wife, Akron Law Clinical Professor Joann Sahl, who continues to teach at the school, said she is “very proud” of her husband’s accomplishments.
“He was a terrific teacher and an amazing resource for attorneys and judges on the subject of professional responsibility,” said Joann, director of the Akron Law Reentry and Civil Practice clinics. “He invested in the success of the law students who were his research assistants. He made a point of helping them find a job and would stay in touch with them when they became lawyers.
“I’m really excited for Jack to explore the next chapter of his life,” Joann said. “He has so many connections in the community and I know he will use those connections to give back.”
Born in Queens, New York, Sahl graduated from Southern Freehold Regional High School (now Howell H.S.) in New Jersey and received his bachelor’s degree in history from Boston College.
Sahl earned his juris doctor from Vermont Law School in 1979. He also has a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Yale Law School.
As a student, he served as a law clerk in the Vermont Defender General’s Office and worked as a teaching assistant at Vermont Law School.
He was also a founding member and on the editorial board of the Vermont Legal Research Group, which provided updates to the bar regarding recent developments in the profession.
After graduating, he worked for the recording studio Ambience Inc. in Sharon, Vermont, managing the company’s business and legal affairs.
In 1980, he started as an instructor of law at the University of Bridgeport School of Law (now Quinnipiac University School of Law) in Connecticut. During his ten-year tenure at the institution, he also held the titles of assistant dean and deputy dean, while simultaneously serving as an adjunct professor of law.
From 1990 to 1991, he was a law clerk to 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge William J. Holloway Jr. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Sahl then began his lengthy career at Akron Law as an associate professor. He was promoted to professor in 2004 and received the title Joseph G. Miller Professor of Law in 2015.
He taught a variety of courses, including Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Contracts and Antitrust Law. He also served on multiple law faculty committees and received numerous university appointments.
While at Akron Law, he also taught at other institutions, including Yale University for more than two decades, Quinnipiac College School of Law and Centro Italiano di Direzione Aziendale (CEIDA) in Rome.
During the summer of 1996, he served as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I helped conduct investigations and hearings for the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights,” said Sahl. “I also advised U.S. Sen. Hank Brown from Colorado.”
Some of his other titles at Akron Law included research fellow for the Center for Constitutional Law, intellectual property fellow for the Center for Intellectual Property Law & Technology, deputy director of the Miller Becker Center for Professional Responsibility (1998-2008), faculty director of the center (2008-2015) and director starting in 2015.
Sahl officially became associated with the Miller Becker Center in the early ‘90s.
In his various roles at the center over the years, he assisted in the development of policy and goals, created and implemented programs and directed the fundraising efforts.
“I always enjoyed talking with lawyers and corporate officials about the importance of legal ethics and the need to financially support the Miller Becker Center’s efforts in educating the bar and the bench about professional responsibility,” said Sahl.
In December, administrators announced that Heather Zirke was named director of the center and an assistant professor of law. Zirke had served as interim director since Sahl’s retirement in May 2023.
“I am ecstatic that she was selected,” said Sahl. “I worked with Heather when she was bar counsel for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and I chaired its ethics and professionalism committee.
“I helped recruit her and I am confident the center will thrive under her leadership,” said Sahl. “She is also a wonderful role model for our students.”
While at Akron Law, Sahl co-authored three textbooks and related supplements and teacher’s manuals.
During the pandemic, Sahl and several co-authors published a second edition of the book “Professional Responsibility in Focus,” including a teacher’s manual.
In addition, he and Steven I. Friedland, professor/senior scholar and director of the Center for Engaged Learning in the Law at Elon University School of Law in North Carolina, also unveiled the sixth edition of “Evidence Problems and Materials.”
Sahl has been very active in the Cleveland Metropolitan, Ohio State, Connecticut and American bar associations, serving on many committees and subcommittees, among other roles.
He was an Ohio State Bar Association Ethics Committee member and a past chair of the editorial board of the American Bar Association/Bureau of National Affairs Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct.
Sahl was also chair and a former member of the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools Professional Responsibility Section and a former chair and vice chair of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Ethics and Professionalism Committee.
Additionally, he is an emeritus bencher of the Charles F. Scanlon and Judge Samuel H. Bell American Inn of Court and since 1995 he’s been a consultant/expert witness on professional responsibility and related issues, testifying in federal and state proceedings.
In 2019, Sahl was presented with the OSBA’s Eugene R. Weir Award for Ethics and Professionalism.
Outside of the legal profession, Sahl has served on the boards of a number of local organizations such as the Lippman School and Heritage Corridors of Bath and is a former volunteer for the Special Olympics.
He continues to assist in the restoration of the historic Oviatt House in Richfield, which has ties to the Underground Railroad and American abolitionist John Brown.
“I have a background in construction,” said Sahl. “I own real estate in Connecticut and Shelter Island, New York.”
In fact now that he has retired he plans to spend more time managing the properties, one of which he co-owns with a partner.
“My partner is Steve Horton, who I originally met in the music industry in 1979,” he said.
Sahl wants to spend more time traveling with his family and friends.
While teaching is not currently on his agenda, he isn’t taking anything off the table.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my opportunities to teach, write and practice law and would not rule out the possibility of doing any of them in the future,” said Sahl.