Hat trick, trifecta, whatever you want to call it - three books in three years is strong proof that TJSL Professor Kenneth Vandevelde is on a roll as a respected legal author and recognized expert on investment treaties.
The second edition of his Thinking Like a Lawyer: An Introduction to Legal Reasoning, published by Westview Press, hit the stands early this year. The first edition of this book appeared in 1996 and its success prompted the publisher to ask Professor Vandevelde to prepare a second edition.
According to Westview Press: “Law students, law professors, and lawyers frequently refer to the process of ‘thinking like a lawyer,’ but attempts to analyze in any systematic way what is meant by that phrase are rare. In his classic book, Kenneth J. Vandevelde defines this elusive phrase and identifies the techniques involved in thinking like a lawyer. Unlike most legal writings, which are plagued by difficult, virtually incomprehensible language, this book is accessible and clearly written and will help students, professionals, and general readers gain important insight into this well-developed and valuable way of thinking.
Updated for a new generation of lawyers, the second edition features a new chapter on contemporary perspectives on legal reasoning. A useful new appendix serves as a survival guide for current and prospective law students and describes how to apply the techniques in the book to excel in law school.”
This new edition follows on the heels of another book authored by Professor Vandevelde, Bilateral Investment Treaties: History, Policy, and Interpretation, which was released in March 2010 by the prestigious academic publisher Oxford University Press. The book organizes, summarizes and comments upon the arbitral awards interpreting and applying BIT provisions. It is the first ever book to articulate a general theory of BITs.
Policymakers and practitioners will find a thorough introduction to the operation of the BITs, including the principal arguments and case authorities on both sides of the major issues in international investment law. The book is intended to be a single-volume reference covering every important development in the 50 years of BIT programs worldwide, from 1959 until 2009.
In 2009, Professor Vandevelde saw the release of another of his works, U.S. International Investment Agreements, which publisher Oxford University Press calls: “…the definitive interpretative guide to the United States' bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) with investment chapters. Providing an authoritative look at the development of the BIT program, treatment provisions, expropriation, and other provisions, Vandevelde draws on his years of investment treaty and agreement expertise as both a former practitioner and a scholar. This unique and well-organized book analyzes the development of U.S. international investment agreement language and strategy within their historical context. It also explains the newest changes to the model negotiating text (US Model BIT 2004) and additional treaties.”
Professor Vandevelde has lectured on the subject of international investment law in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and the Caribbean and has served as a consultant on international law to Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia, the Republic of Georgia, the United Nations and the U.S. Senate.
