James L. Hunt

Professor Hunt grew up in North Carolina and graduated from high school in Greenville. He received undergraduate (B.A.) and law (J.D.) degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American history from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School. After law school, he worked as a clerk for Judge Robert F. Chapman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then practiced law, mostly in public utility and litigation, with the firm Hunton & Williams (now Hunton Andrews Kurth) for five years. He began teaching in the law school at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1995 and has been teaching at Mercer’s business and law schools since 1998. Professor Hunt served as a Fulbright Scholar in Law in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2005-2006, where he was affiliated with National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. During the 2021-2022 academic year, he was Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Law Department at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At Mercer he has been a tenured professor since 2003 and Professor of Law and Business since 2009. He was associate dean for Macon graduate business programs from 2016 to 2021. Professor Hunt currently teaches business law and business ethics to undergraduate, graduate, and law students. Recently, he has taught courses in Summary Judgment Practice, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Procedure, and Business Associations in the law school. His publications include two books, Marion Butler and American Populism (2003) and Relationship Banker: Eugene W. Stetson, Wall Street, and American Business, 1916-1959 (2009). Professor Hunt’s primary research interests are legal history, business history, and political history.

Courses Taught

Law and Graduate

Mercer University Law School, Macon Georgia (twelve courses):

• Introduction to Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Contracts
• Contract Drafting
• Civil Procedure
• Independent Study (advisor for published Mercer Law Review Notes/Comments)
• Business Associations
• Summary Judgment Practice
• American Legal History
• American Legal History Seminar
• Legal Writing I
• Legal Writing II
• Legal Analysis

Mercer University School of Business (four courses):

• Legal Environment of Business (MBA)
• Business Ethics (MBA)
• MBA Study Abroad
• MBA Business Internship

National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kiev, Ukraine (As Fulbright Scholar in Law, 2005-2006) (three courses):

• Law and Economics (M.A. in Economics Program)
• Legal Analysis (Master’s in Law (LL.M.) Program, Law School)
• Global Economic History (M.A. in Economics Program)

Law School Study Abroad Program, Nankai University, Tianjin, China (Summer 2012) (one course):

• Comparative Legal History – U.S. and Chinese Experiences (for U.S. law students)

Specializations

• Business Law
• Legal History
• Business History
• Political History

Memberships

• Member, Georgia Advisory Committee, United States Commission on Civil Rights
• Reviewer, American Business Law Journal
• Member, Executive Committee, Mercer University House of Delegates
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, North Carolina State Bar
• Member, Georgia Legal History Foundation
• Member, Academy of Legal Studies in Business

Professional Interests

• Research (American Legal History; American Business History; American Political History)
• Teaching (Business Law)
• Service (Higher Education, Civil Rights, Pro Bono Legal Work)

Awards/Recognitions

• Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Law, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado (2021-2022)
• Member, Georgia Advisory Committee, United States Commission on Civil Rights (2020-2024)
• Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow, Institute for Higher Education, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia (2015-2016)
• Mercer University Provost’s Recognition as Exemplary Faculty Member in Research, Service, and Teaching (2013-2014)
• Georgia Author of the Year Award (Biography), Georgia Writers Association (2010)
• Fulbright Scholar in Law (Ukraine, 2005-2006)
• Brainerd Currie Honor Society (Faculty Membership, Mercer University Law School (1997)
• Harvard Law School Graduate Scholarship (1992-1993)
• Member, North Carolina Law Review (1986-1987)
• William F. Vilas Fellowship, University of Wisconsin – Madison (1983-1984)

Education

• LLM, Harvard Law School, 1993
• MA, Ph.D.,, History, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 1982, 1990
• BA, JD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law School, 1981, 1988