Harvard Law Professor Joseph Singer delivered the fourth annual Wolf Family Lecture to students, faculty and guests Tuesday at UF Law. (Photo by Vincent Massaro)

By Alyssa Cameron
Law Student Writer

Harvard Law Professor Joseph Singer, a nationally recognized expert in property law, discussed what William the Conqueror, the subprime crisis and the Tea Party have in common before a packed audience Tuesday in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center.

The fourth annual Wolf Family Lecture titled, “Property Law as the Infrastructure of Democracy,” explored how American property law has served as the foundation for democracy in the United States.

Singer pointed out one bright side of the subprime crisis: that it would never again be difficult to explain to students why you cannot package certain kinds of property rights. He also finds it odd that the subprime crisis spurred the Tea Party, which believes that having a large government is negative, because the government should have provided more oversight of the financial industry.

Singer discussed the contradiction between traditional principles of contract law and property law. “You can’t have absolute freedom of contract and full ownership rights,” he said.

The question we should ask ourselves, he said, is “what are the minimum standards for market and property relationships in a free and democratic society that treats each person with equal concern and respect?”

The Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property was endowed by a gift from UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf and his wife, Betty. The Wolf family organized the lecture series for several reasons, Wolf said, one of which was to bring outstanding property law experts to UF to expose them to the “excellent student body and our outstanding set of colleagues.”

Singer’s lecture will be published in Powell on Real Property, the most referenced real property treatise in the country. Wolf is the general editor of the 17-volume treatise and was “so happy Joe joined us and convinced us that the restraints of law can set you free.”

Harvard legal expert Joseph Singer, a nationally recognized expert in property law, will deliver the fourth Wolf Family Lecture at UF Law tomorrow at 11 a.m. (Photo by Phil Farnsworth, Harvard Law School)

By Matt Walker
Senior Writer

The fourth annual Wolf Family Lecture on the American Law of Real Property will explore how American property law helped serve as the foundation for democracy in the United States.

Harvard Law School Professor Joseph Singer, a nationally recognized expert in property law, will deliver the lecture titled, “Property Law as the Infrastructure of Democracy,” tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

“The subprime crisis has confronted us with the problems that come from too little regulation,” Singer said. “But debates about how to prevent a reoccurrence are hampered by the libertarian idea that regulations inevitably take away our freedom. On the contrary, freedom is not possible without the rule of law.”

Singer said regulation is just another word for law: “To see how law promotes freedom, we have only to consider the legal framework of property in a free and democratic society.”

Singer argues that regulations do not take away our freedom, but are what make us free. He said markets work only because of consumer protection and other regulatory laws. The history of American property law and its protections are also important in understanding and appreciating the democratic society we live in today.

“The history and structure of property law give us a better understanding of the legal framework of a free and democratic society that aspires to treat each person with equal concern and respect.”

“We are delighted to have Professor Singer visit UF law,” said UF Law Professor Christine Klein. “His work is always thought-provoking and insightful, making him one of today’s pre-eminent property law scholars.”

The Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property was endowed by a gift from UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf and his wife, Betty. Wolf, the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, is the general editor of a 17-volume treatise,Powell on Real Property, the most referenced real property treatise in the country, which is regularly cited by the courts, including several citations in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I am thrilled that Professor Singer will have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with our impressive students and our first-class faculty,” said Wolf.

Past scholars who have delivered the Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property include Thomas W. Merrill, Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law at Columbia Law School; Gregory S. Alexander, A. Robert Noll Professor of Law at Cornell Law School; and Lee Fennel, professor of law at the University of Chicago.

This event is free and open to the public.