William Voss-Bascom Professor of Law and Political Science
E-mail: khendley@wisc.edu
Telephone: (608)263-5135
Office: Room 9101, Law School
Education:
M.A., Georgetown University
J.D., UCLA School of Law
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley
Teaching Areas:
Comparative Law
Contracts
Biography
Professor Hendley's research focuses on legal and economic reform in the former Soviet Union. Following in the Wisconsin "law in action" tradition, her research explores how ordinary Russians experience law. To that end, she conducted a series of 28 focus groups during the summers of 2007 and 2008, leading to publications on the dualistic nature of the Russian legal system and on the willingness of Russians to make use of the formal legal system. This project was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Council on Eurasian and East European Research, and the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin. Her current project focuses on issues of access to justice in Russia. She received an Ed A. Hewett Fellowship from the National Council on Eurasian and East European Research to conduct research at the justice-of-the-peace courts in Russia and to explore the growing role of mediation during the summers of 2011 and 2011. She also received a Fulbright research award to carry out this research during the 2011-12 academic year. During the 2012-13 academic year, she will be on leave, thanks to a fellowship from the Program on Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University. During the 1990s, Professor Hendley was involved in an inter-disciplinary project aimed at understanding how business is conducted in Russia and the role of law in business transactions and corporate governance. This project was funded by the World Bank, the National Science Foundation, and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research. She has received the Kellett Mid-Career Award, the Vilas Associate Award, and a Romnes Fellowship. She teaches Contracts, as well as courses related to her interest in Russia, such as Comparative Law, and Russian Law. She holds a joint appointment in the Political Science department, where she regularly teaches Russian Politics, Law, Society and Politics and Comparative Legal Institutions. She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank in their work on legal reform in Russia. Professor Hendley previously served as the Director of the Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia, which receives Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
