Career
Ribstein earned his Bachelor of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. He practiced for three years as an associate at McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago. He began his teaching career at Mercer University Law School (1975-1987), later serving on the faculty at George Mason University School of Law (1987–2002), including as George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law (1993–2002).
He also held visiting professorships at New York University Law School, the University of Texas School of Law, Washington University School of Law, and Saint Louis University School of Law.
His interests included partnerships and limited liability companies, corporate and securities law, choice of law, financial regulation, white-collar crime, legal ethics, and the legal profession. His publications include:
The Rise of the Uncorporation (Oxford University Press, 2010)
The Law Market (Oxford University Press, 2009) (with Erin A O’Hara)
The Sarbanes-Oxley Debacle (American Enterprise Institute Press, 2006) (with Henry North Butler)
The Constitution and the Corporation (American Enterprise Institute Press, 1995) (with Butler)
Ribstein & Keatinge on Limited Liability Corporations
Bromberg & Ribstein on Partnerships
Business Associations (4th ed 2003, Lexis/Nexis) (with Peter V Letsou)
Unincorporated Business Entities (4th ed 2009, Lexis/Nexis) (with Jeffrey M Lipshaw)
He served the legal-academic community in a variety of capacities, including on the Executive Committee of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Securities Regulation, as chair of the AALS Section on Agency, Partnership and LLCs, and as editor and co-editor of The Supreme Court Economic Review.
