Francis Mootz
Francis J. Mootz III joined the McGeorge School of Law on June 1, 2012 as the school's ninth dean. After his five-year term as dean, he joined the faculty as Professor of Law. Previously, Professor Mootz previously served as Associate Dean at the William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also at Penn State Dickinson School of Law. He has taught at William and Mary Law School and Western New England University School of Law. Professor Mootz is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Duke University Graduate School, and Duke University School of Law.
Professor Mootz teaches and writes in traditional doctrinal areas such as contract, sale, insurance and employment law. He is dedicated to using modern teaching tools, and is the co-author of a Sales casebook and an Employment Law casebook. Professor Mootz has edited three volumes of the 14-volume Appleman Library Edition insurance law treatise, and he has served as an expert consultant regarding a number of insurance coverage issues. Most recently, he has written and spoken about the emerging adult-use cannabis industry in California, discussing insurance coverage issues and questions of professional responsibility for attorneys advising cannabis clients. He has served as a Member of the Board of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws from 2006 until 2012, and was elected to membership in the American Law Institute in 2012.
Professor Mootz has undertaken an ambitious agenda of interdisciplinary scholarship exploring relationships between law and contemporary European philosophy. His primary focus is on the hermeneutical and rhetorical traditions. He is the author of Rhetorical Knowledge in Legal Practice and Critical Legal Theory (2006) (translated to Portuguese) and has edited and contributed to a number of books relating to jurisprudential topics. He has been invited to speak in Europe, Africa, and South America. In 2021, the University of the Pacific awarded him the Faculty Research Lecturer Award, which is given to a senior faculty member with a career of outstanding research and scholarly activity. In 2023, his co-edited volume The Rhetoric of Judging Well: The Conflicted Legacy of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy won the annual Distinguished Book Award conferred by the Communication and Law Division of the National Communication Association. He enjoys spending time with his wife and with his two dogs, Che and Frida.
JD, Duke University School of Law
AM, Philosophy, Duke University Graduate School
BA, History, University of Notre Dame
Representative Scholarship and Activities
Books
Classical Rhetoric and Contemporary Law: A Critical Reader (University of Alabama Press, forthcoming 2023) (with Kirsten Davis, Brian Larson, and Kristen Tiscione).
The Rhetoric of Judging Well: The Conflicted Legacy of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (Penn State Press, 2023) (with David M. Frank).
Justice Scalia: Rhetoric and the Rule of Law (University of Chicago Press, 2019) (with Brian G. Slocum).
The Semiotics of Law in Legal Education (Springer, 2011) (with Jan M. Broekman).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., Gadamer and Ricoeur: Critical Horizons for Contemporary Hermeneutics (Part of the series Studies in Continental Philosophy) (Edited with George H. Taylor; Continuum Publishing, 2011).
Francis J. Mootz III, Conhecimento Retórico n Prática e na Teoria Crítica do Direito (Luzia Araújo, Trans.) (Editora Unisinos, 2011) (Part of the series: Coleção Dike) [translation of Rhetorical Knowledge in Legal Practice and Critical Legal Theory].
Francis J. Mootz III, Law, Hermeneutics and Rhetoric, London: Ashgate Publishing (2010).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., On Philosophy in American Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., Nietzsche and Law, with P. Goodrich, London: Ashgate Publishing (2008).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., Gadamer and Law, London: Ashgate Publishing (2007).
Francis J. Mootz III, Rhetorical Knowledge in Legal Practice and Critical Legal Theory, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2006. (Part of the series Rhetoric, Culture and Social Critique).
Book Chapters
Rhetoric and Law, in The Cambridge History of Rhetoric: Volume V 1900 – , xx-xx (Daniel M. Gross, Steven Mailloux, LuMing Mao, eds; Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2025).
Jan Broekman and the Multicultural Self, in The Rearguard of Subjectivity (Springer Press, forthcoming 2023).
Giambattista Vico, in Classical Rhetoric and Contemporary Law: A Critical Reader (University of Alabama Press, forthcoming 2023) (with Kirsten Davis, Brian Larson, and Kristen Tiscione).
At Play in the Fields of the Law, in The Philosophical Concept of Play xx-xx (Jeremy Sampson, ed.; Vernon Press, forthcoming 2023).
Justice Kennedy’s Natural Law Rhetoric, in Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: The Rhetoric of Liberty (David M. Frank and Francis J. Mootz III, eds.; Penn State Press, 2023).
Gadamer and Jurisprudence, in The Gadamerian Mind 364-75 (Theodore D. George and Gert-Jan van der Heiden, eds.; Routledge Publishing, 2021).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Unbearable In-Betweeness of Law, in Reading Ricoeur through Law, (Eileen Brennan, Marc de Leeu, George H. Taylor, eds.; Lexington Books, forthcoming 2020).
Francis J. Mootz III, Party Like It's 1989, in Justice Scalia: Rhetoric and the Rule of Law 97-110 (Francis J. Mootz III and Brian G. Slocum, eds.; University of Chicago Press, 2019).
Francis J. Mootz III, Vico, Llewellyn and the Task of Legal Education, in Linda H. Edwards, The Doctrine-Skills Divide: Legal Education's Self-Inflicted Wound 64-76 (Carolina Academic Press, 2017) [reprinted article].
Francis J. Mootz III, Getting Over the Originalist Fixation, in The Nature of Legal Interpretation: What Jurists Can Learn about Legal Interpretation from Linguistics and Philosophy 156-90 (Brian G. Slocum, ed.; University of Chicago Press, 2017).
Francis J. Mootz III, Hermeneutics and Law, in The Blackwell Companion to Hermeneutics (Niall Keane and Chris Lawn eds., Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2016).
Francis J. Mootz III, Right Rhetoric: What Lawyers May Learn from the Study of Rhetoric, in Pensées du droit, Lois de la philosophie 55-62 (Thomas Berns and Julie Allard, eds.; Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2012) (Festschrift for Guy Haarscher).
Francis J. Mootz III, Die Sache: The Foundationless Ground of Legal Meaning, in The Semiotics of Law in Legal Education (Jan M. Broekman and Francis J. Mootz III eds.) (Springer Publishing, 2011).
Francis J. Mootz III, Gadamer's Rhetorical Conception of Hermeneutics as a Key to Developing a Critical Hermeneutics, in Gadamer and Ricoeur: Critical Horizons for Contemporary Hermeneutics (Francis J. Mootz III and George H. Taylor eds.) (Continuum Publishing, 2011).
Francis J. Mootz III, In Search of the Reasonable Woman: Anti-Discrimination Rhetoric in the United States, in Anti-Discrimination Discourse and Practices, Silvia Niccolai, ed., 2011.
Francis J. Mootz III, Interpretation, Law and the Humanities: An Introduction, Austin Sarat, Matt Anderson, Cathrine O. Frank eds., pp. 339-376 (Cambridge U. Press, 2010).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Irrelevance of Contemporary Academic Philosophy for Law: Recovering the Rhetorical Tradition, in On Philosophy in American Law, Francis J. Mootz III, ed. (Cambridge U. Press, 2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, Natural Law and the Cultivation of Legal Rhetoric, in Rediscovering Fuller: Implicit Law and Institutional Design (Willem Witteveen and Wibren van der Berg eds., 1999).
Francis J. Mootz III, Postmodern Constitutionalism as Materialism, in Postmodernism and Law (Dennis Patterson ed., 1994) [reprinting 91 Mich. L. Rev. 515 (1992)].
Treatise Chapters
Francis J. Mootz III, ed.,13 Appelman on Insurance: Subrogation and Contribution (Lexis¬Nexis, 2015) (Editor of Volume 13 of the14-volume Library Edition that updates and replaces the leading 68-volume treatise on insurance law).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., 3 Appleman on Insurance: Liability Principles and CGL Insurance (LexisNexis, 2010) (Editor of Volume 3 of the 14-volume Library Edition that updates and replaces the leading 68-volume treatise on insurance law).
Francis J. Mootz III, ed., 1 Appleman on Insurance: Key Insurance Law and Practice Topics (LexisNexis, 2009) (Editor of Volume 1 of the14-volume Library Edition that updates and replaces the leading 68-volume treatise on insurance law).
Francis J. Mootz III, Insurance Coverage of Discrimination Claims, in Merrick T. Rossein, Employment Discrimination: Law and Litigation, (Thompson West, 1997/2005).
Casebooks
Learning Employment Law (with Michael Maslanka, Leticia M. Saucedo, Angela Morrison, and Daiquiri Steele) (West Academic Publishing, 2nd ed. 2024).
Francis J. Mootz III, Learning Employment Law (with Michael Maslanka and Leticia M. Saucedo) (West Academic Publishing, 2019).
Commercial Contracting: An Integration of Sales, Leases and Computer Information Transactions (with Peter Alces and David Frisch) (LexisNexis Publishing, 2nd ed. 2008; 1st ed. 2004).
Select Journal Articles
Cannabis Law
Francis J. Mootz III, Cannabis and the California Workplace, 54 U. San. Fran. L. Rev. 479 (2019) (with Meghan Shiner).
Francis J. Mootz III, Cannabis Insurance, 23 Lewis and Clark L. Rev. 893-938 (2019) (with Jason Horst).
Francis J. Mootz III, Ethical Cannabis Lawyering in California, 9 St. Mary's J. on Legal Malpractice & Ethics 1-63 (2018).
Francis J. Mootz III, E/Insuring the Marijuana Industry, 49 U. Pac. L. Rev. 43-66 (2017).
Insurance Law
Francis J. Mootz III, Cannabis Insurance, 23 Lewis and Clark L. Rev. 893-938 (2019) (with Jason Horst).
Francis J. Mootz III, E/Insuring the Marijuana Industry, 49 U. Pac. L. Rev. 43-66 (2017).
Francis J. Mootz III, Protecting Victims from Liability Insurance Companies that Add Gratuitous Insult to Grievous Injury, 17 J. of Gender, Race & Justice 313-31 (2014).
Francis J. Mootz III, Holding Liability Insurers Accountable for Bad Faith Litigation Tactics with the Tort of Abuse of Process, 9 Conn. Ins. L.J. 467-525(2003) (reprinted in the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) Journal of Insurance Law, 2004).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Sounds of Silence: Waiting for Courts to Acknowledge that Public Policy Justifies Awarding Damages to Third Party Claimants when Liability Insurers Deal with Them in Bad Faith, 2 Nev. L.J. 443-88 (2002).
Francis J. Mootz III, Coverage for Unfair Competition Torts under General Liability Policies: Will the "Intellectual Property" Tail Wag the Coverage Dog?, 8 Conn. Ins. L.J. 37-¬54 (2001).
Francis J. Mootz III (Symposium Editor), Foreword, Symposium: Philosophical Hermeneutics and Critical Legal Theory, 76 Chi-Kent L. Rev. 719-30 (2000).
Francis J. Mootz III (Symposium Editor), Foreword: Employment Practices Liability Insurance and the Changing American Workplace, 21 West. New Eng. L. Rev. 245-48 (1999).
Francis J. Mootz III, Insuring Employer Liability for Hostile Work Environment Claims: How Changes in Discrimination Law May Affect the Growing Market for Employment-Related Practices Liability Insurance, 21 West. New Eng. L. Rev. 369-426 (1999).
Francis J. Mootz III, Insurance Coverage of Employment Discrimination Claims, 52 Miami L. Rev. 1-78 (reprinted at 48 Defense L.J. 545-644 (1999)).
Francis J. Mootz III (Symposium Editor), Foreword, Symposium: Insurance Coverage of Employment Disputes, 18 West. New Eng. L. Rev. 1-4 (1996).
Francis J. Mootz III, Principles of Insurance Coverage: A Guide for the Employment Lawyer, 18 West. New Eng. L. Rev. 5-46 (1996).
Legal Theory
The Legal Backdrop: A Maze of Confusion, 54 U. Pac. L. Rev. 1-19 (2023).
“Freedom’s Just Another Word for Nothin’ Left to Lose” The Ongoing Struggle to Properly Regulate the Gig Economy in California, Revista da AGU, Brasilia-DF 21:4 (October/December 2022), pp. 17-44. (with Jeff Michael).
Francis J. Mootz III, Judging Well, 11 Wash. U. Jur. Rev. 1-37 (2018).
Francis J. Mootz III, The "Ethical" Surplus of the War on Illegal Immigration, 15 J. Gender Race & Just. 257-79 (2012) (with Leticia Saucedo).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Hermeneutical and Rhetorical Nature of Law, 8 Journal of Catholic Social Thought 221-54 (2011).
Video presentation: Villanova University School of Law, October 22, 2010.
Ugly American Hermeneutics, 10 Nev. L.J. 587 (2010).
Francis J. Mootz III, Perelman's Theory of Argumentation and Natural Law, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-16 (2009).
Video presentation: University of Oregon, May 19, 2008.
Francis J. Mootz III, Vico, Llewellyn and the Task of Legal Education, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-15 (2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, Faithful Hermeneutics, 209 Mich. St. L. Rev. 361 (2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, Faith and Politics in the Post-Secular Age: The Promise of President Obama, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-05 (2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, Vico and Imagination: An Ingenious Approach to Educating Lawyers with Semiotic Sensibility, 22 (1) Int'l. J. for the Semiotics of Law -- Revue Internationale de Sémiotique Juridique 11 (2009).
Francis J. Mootz III, Vico's 'Ingenious Method' and Legal Education, 83 Chi-Kent L. Rev. 1261 (2008).
Francis J. Mootz III, After Natural Law: A Hermeneutic Response to Law's Quandary, 9 Rutgers J. of L. And Religion (Number 2, 2008).
Francis J. Mootz III, Responding to Nietzsche: The Constructive Power of Destruktion, 3 Law, Culture and the Human. 127-54 (2007) (peer refereed journal).
Francis J. Mootz III, Belief and Interpretation, 21 J. of Law and Religion 385-99 (2006) (peer refereed journal).
Francis J. Mootz III, Nietzschean Critique and Philosophical Hermeneutics, 24 Cardozo L. Rev. 967-1042 (2003).
Francis J. Mootz III, A Future Foretold: Neo-Aristotelian Praise of Postmodern Legal Theory, 68 Brook. L. Rev. 683-719 (2003).
Francis J. Mootz III, Psychotherapeutic Practice as a Model for Postmodern Legal Theory, 12 Yale J. L. & Human. 299-395 (2000).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Quest to Reprogram Cultural Software: A Hermeneutical Response to Jack Balkin's Theory of Ideology and Critique, 76 Chi-Kent L. Rev. 945-89 (2000).
Francis J. Mootz III, Law in Flux: Philosophical Hermeneutics, Legal Argumentation and the Natural Law Tradition, 11 Yale J. L. & Human. 311-82 (1999).
Francis J. Mootz III, Rhetorical Knowledge in Legal Practice and Theory, 6 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 491-611 (1998).
Francis J. Mootz III, Desperately Seeking Science, in Symposium: What is Meaning in a Legal Text?, 73 Wash. U. L. Q. 1009-23 (1995).
Francis J. Mootz III, Law and Philosophy, Philosophy and Law, in Law and Hermeneutics Roundtable 26 U. Tol. L. Rev. 127-46 (1994).
Francis J. Mootz III, Legal Classics: After Deconstructing the Legal Canon, 72 N.C. L. Rev. 977-1038 (1994).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Paranoid Style in Contemporary Legal Scholarship, 31 Hous. L. Rev. 873¬-88 (1994).
Francis J. Mootz III, Rethinking the Rule of Law: A Demonstration That the Obvious Is Plausible, 61 Tenn. L. Rev. 69-195 (1993).
Francis J. Mootz III, Is the Rule of Law Possible in a Postmodern World?, 63 Wash. L. Rev. 249-305 (1993).
Francis J. Mootz III, Postmodern Constitutionalism as Materialism, 91 Mich. L. Rev. 515-25 (1992) (correspondence) (reprinted in Postmodernism and Law (Dennis Patterson ed., 1994)).
Francis J. Mootz III, The Ontological Basis of Legal Hermeneutics: A Proposed Model of Inquiry Based on the Work of Gadamer, Habermas and Ricoeur, 68 B.U.L. Rev. 523-617 (1988).
