James D. Gordon III

James D. Gordon III was Marion B. and Rulon A. Earl Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School. He also served as Assistant to the President for Planning and Assessment at Brigham Young University, as Interim Dean and as Associate Dean for Faculty and Curriculum at the law school, and as Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty at BYU.

Students enjoyed Professor Gordon’s fresh and creative teaching style. He infused wit and wisdom into the classroom as well as into his writing. His book Law School: A Survivor’s Guide (HarperPerennial 1994) and essay How Not to Succeed in Law School, 100 Yale L.J. 1679 (1991), provide humorous insights into surviving law school. Professor Gordon received a BYU Student Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was named as a Professor of the Year at the law school several times. He also received an Abraham O. Smoot Citizenship Award from the university.

Before joining the BYU faculty, Professor Gordon was an associate at the Salt Lake City law firm of Rooker, Larsen, Kimball & Parr. He served as a law clerk to Judge Monroe G. McKay of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.