The Strength of Our College Begins with Our Faculty
Research scholars of international renown and teachers of lasting influence are mainstays of our faculty. Whether it is in teaching or research, our faculty demands excellence. Their success is measured by the influence of their research and the impact of their students on the world of business.
Faculty Directory | Research Centers | Endowed FacultyFaculty Spotlight:
Robert W. Emerson
Huber Hurst Professor of Business Law & Chair, Department of Management
"My research goes to the heart of procedural and entrepreneurial comparative law. While there are drawbacks to a so-called inquisitorial approach, American lawyers and business could learn from the methods used in the French and other foreign legal traditions. That has been the focus of my work studying the huissiers, and why I am so excited to be part of the newly founded Conseil Scientifique of international scholars on this important area of procedural law.
In my other research focus, franchising, what could be more entrepreneurial than a system that combines the advantages of operational cost-savings, market experience, and proven brand value with the earnest "sweat capital" of small business owners-operators? Much of my work, whether in papers or in presentations such as before the Sicilian (Catania) Chamber of Commerce, focuses on the lessons to be drawn from the many legal quagmires – and potential solutions – that one can draw from American and French franchising, two of the most heavily vetted systems, in terms of business and law. I have also very much enjoyed putting my research into the classroom, for the undergraduate, MBA, and other graduate school programs. I relish incorporating examples derived from my research – from contracts to ethics and professionalism to antitrust to accident cases."
Robert Emerson's Faculty ProfileEducation
- J.D., Harvard Law School, 1982
- B. A., University of the South (Sewanee), 1978
Awards & Honors
2009 Best Paper Award from the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (SEALSB); 2008 Best Paper Award by the Mid-Atlantic Academy of Legal Studies in Business (MAALSB); Winner; 2008 & 2009 Holmes-Cardozo Distinguished Paper Award, Academy of Legal Studies in Business (five-time winner); Invited to testify about franchising to Congressional Committe on Small Business; Junior Faculty Achievement Award, Finalist (ALSB); Internet MBA Teacher of the Year; Inaugural Winner, Lambda Chi Alpha, Univ. of Florida Chapter, Teacher of the Year; Winner (seven times), Teacher of the Year Award, Warrington College of Business Administration.
Research Interests
Franchising, Employment Law, Insurance, Torts, Contracts, Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings, Business Litigation, Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution
Publications
Author of over 15 review articles and a dozen books; co-author of book chapters and a two-year study; author of numerous trade journal articles; cited in over 170 law journal articles, in state legislative records, in books, and in state and federal court opinions; - the vast majority of the citations are in other scholarly writings.
