In Memory of
Mary Kay Kane
1946-2021
It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share with you that our Governor of the Board, Chair of the Nominations Committee, Chair of the Emeritus Council, and Emerita Chancellor, Dean, and Professor, Mary Kay Kane passed away June 3, 2021, due to complications from cancer. Her passing is a tremendous loss to our global legal community and all who were fortunate to know her. Her humor, generosity, insight, and guidance will be deeply missed.
HER LEGACY
Professor Mary Kay Kane was not only a Governor of the IALS Board, she also served as Chair of the Nominations Committee and Chair of the Emeritus Council. Significantly, she developed and chaired the Evaluation, Assistance, And Certification Program. Professor Kane was a major contributor in drafting the Association’s foundational documents – the Singapore Declaration, Madrid Protocol, Judicial Standards, and the principles of the EAC program. These are the building blocks on which the Association has continued to build since its founding. In recognition of her vast contribution to global legal education, we will be creating and endowing a special fund to perpetuate the exploration and definition of the standards for evaluation and certification of legal education globally. It will be named the “Kane Standards” to honor her leadership and contribution in formulating so many of our foundational principles. It is a small way to thank and recognize her for all she has done for legal education and the Association. Her thoughts and dedication are deeply embedded in the DNA of the IALS.
We have lost a great mentor, colleague, and friend, let us continue her work and legacy.
Sincerely,
HERSTORY
Professor Mary Kay Kane was born and raised in Detroit. She attended the University of Michigan where she received a B.A. degree in English and a J.D. in law in 1971. Upon graduation from law school, she became co-director of a national science foundation project on privacy and social science research data, spending one year at the University of Michigan and two years at Harvard Law School working on that project.
She began teaching in 1974 at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and came to Hastings in 1977. She served as Associate Academic Dean from 1980-82, as Acting Academic Dean during the 1987-88 academic year, as Academic Dean from 1990-93, and as Dean from 1993-2006, and as Chancellor from 2000-2006. She had been a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of California, Berkeley Law School.
Professor Kane was elected to the American Law Institute in December 1978 and was elected to the Council in December 1997. She served as Chair of the Governance Committee and was previously an Adviser on the Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation project; the Restatement Third, Torts: Apportionment of Liability project; and the Transnational Rules of Civil Procedure.
A highly respected and world-renowned scholar, Professor Kane’s major area of interest was civil procedure. She had written numerous articles and books in that field, including a Nutshell on Civil Procedure, the eighth edition of which was published in 2018. She also co-authored a Hornbook on Civil Procedure, whose fifth edition was published in 2012, a Hornbook on the Law of Federal Courts, whose eighth edition was published in 2017, as well as the third and fourth editions of fourteen volumes of the national treatise, Federal Practice, and Procedure. She also served as the Co-Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Complex Litigation Project, developing proposals for handling multiparty, multiform disputes in the federal and state courts.
In 2001, Mary Kay served as the President of the Association of American Law Schools. She also served as a member of the Standing Committee on Practice and Procedure of the United States Judicial Conference from 2000-2006 and as a member of the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar from 2004-2010. Since 2014, she had been serving on the Board of the International Association of Law Schools and as the Chair of the International Advisory Board for Kozminski University Law School in Warsaw, Poland. In 2019, Mary Kay was honored with a distinguished service medal from Kozminski University, an award bestowed every three years.
The professional achievements of Mary Kay Kane are prodigious and well-known but I would like to add a personal tribute to Mary Kay Kane the person. Very few people with such a distinguished career possess the compassion, concern, and honesty that Mary Kay displayed to all whom she met and with whom she worked. Her collegiality in the face of controversy brought resolution and solutions to any problem at hand. She was warm and welcoming and made people comfortable in her presence. I will miss her wise counsel and deep friendship. May she rest in peace.
-Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit
Chair, Judicial Council, International Association of Law Schools
I was so sorry to hear about the passing away of our Governor of the Board, Emerita Chancellor & Dean, and Professor Mary Kay Kane. It was unexpected and shocking news when we got information concerning the passing away of Professor Mary Kay Kane. We should recall her great dedication and contribution to the IALS and the development of international legal education. She is a great mentor, colleague, and friend, let us work together to continue her work and legacy. Personally, and on behalf of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, I would like to express our heartfelt and deepest condolences upon the passing away of the late Professor Mary Kay Kane. May her holy soul be well accepted by the Almighty God. We wish her family bestowed with courage and strength by the Almighty God. My prayers are with her and her family. May God bless us.
-Dr. Sigit Riyanto, Dean, Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
I am sad with the news that professor and dean Mary Kay Kane has passed away. Please receive condolences and convey them to her family and friends. Professor Kane, just before the pandemic, had agreed to visit our Law School (Universidad de Chile) and work with us in a certification process. She had extensive correspondence with the Vice-dean Renée Rivero, other professors, and the undersigned on this matter. All of us are sad about her death and send our fondest regards to you.
-Pablo Ruiz-Tagle, Dean, Faculty of law, Universidad de Chile, Chile
I was quite saddened to learn of the passing on of Professor Mary Kane. My interaction with her was fleeting but impactful as she shared her passion for the Evaluation, Assistance, And Certification Program of IALS which she chaired. Although by some twist of fate the pandemic has prevented the full implementation of the Program, the standards and guidelines she helped to fashion will stand the Program in good stead for years to come. Such a resourceful and disarming personality. We will all miss her.
–Adedeji Adekunle SAN, Professor, Nigerian Institute, of Advanced Legal Studies, Nigeria
On behalf of our School and my Colleagues in Lausanne, I would like to express our deepest sadness about the loss of Mary Kay. Some of us had the pleasure to work with her through IALS and other committees where she was active in and always very appreciated. We also thank you very much for letting us know about this sad news. If you have the occasion to let her family and friends know about our sympathy we sure would appreciate this.
-Bettina Kahil-Wolff Hummer, Emeritus Dean, Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice and Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
With immense sadness, we at SLS Pune, India, and personally, I express my condolences to all at the Board of IALS for this irreparable loss. My last conversation with Mary while waiting at the Hotel at Gdansk gave me deep insights. I even remarked, “you imbibe the spirit of an Irish Matriarch”. She was a mentor and a role model, achieving top honors and being the chancellor. So, a true inspiration for many women deans and professors. We were looking forward to working with her on Accreditation and were planning those trips, although time went against us soon. Mary will be missed dearly, as much as her regal ways, her command, her gentle ways, meticulous planning, punctuality, initiative, and most of all, a positive outlook. A true leader she was. Prayers for the noble soul to rest in peace.
-Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Director, SLS Pune, and Dean, Faculty of Law, SIU, Pune, India