David Blankfein-Tabachnick

David Blankfein-Tabachnick
Alma mater	Yale Law School, University of Virginia
Occupation(s)	Law professor, legal scholar, associate dean
Known for	Private law, taxation and tax policy, intellectual property, legal and political theory, law and economics

David Blankfein-Tabachnick (born August 6, 1971) is an American legal scholar and law professor. He is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Intellectual Life at Michigan State University College of Law. ^[1]

Academic career

David Blankfein-Tabachnick joined the Michigan State University College of Law faculty in 2014. ^[2] He was appointed Associate Dean for Research in 2023 and later that year promoted to Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Intellectual Life. In 2017, David Blankfein-Tabachnick was appointed Faculty Advisor to the Michigan State Law Review. ^[3]

Research and scholarship

Blankfein-Tabachnick’s research focuses on private law, taxation, and intellectual property. ^[1] His work examines the structure and normative dimensions of bankruptcy, contract, property, tort, and tax law. He and Kevin Kordana have collaborated on an interpretation of John Rawls's theory of justice as it applies to private law. ^[4] His work on intellectual property appeared in the California Law Review, accompanied by a response from Robert P. Merges. Samuel Freeman has also responded to his collaborative work in the Virginia Law Review. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Teaching awards

While at the University of Virginia, he received a university-wide award for excellence in teaching. ^[1] In 2021, he received the Michigan State University All-University Teacher-Scholar Award. ^[8]

Selected publications

• "On Rawlsian Contractualism and the Private Law" 108 Virginia Law Review (2022) (With Kordana); Simultaneously published in the Virginia Law Review Print and Online Editions.
• "Maximizing Intellectual Property: Optimality, Synchronicity and Distributive Justice," 94 St. John's Law Review (2020).
• "Kaplow and Shavell and the Priority of Income Taxation and Transfer," 69 Hastings Law Journal 1 (2017) (with Kordana).
• "Property, Duress, and Consensual Relationships," 114 Michigan Law Review 1013 (2016).
• "Intellectual Property Doctrine and Midlevel Principles," 101 California Law Review 1315 (2013).
• "On Belling the Cat: Rawls and Tort as Corrective Justice," 92 Virginia Law Review 1279 (2006) (with Kordana); Reprinted in Rawls and Law (Routledge Publishing, 2012).
• "Does Intellectual Property Have Foundations?" 45 Connecticut Law Review 995 (2013).
• "The Rawlsian View of Private Ordering," 25 Social Philosophy & Policy, 288 (2008) (with Kordana) (Cambridge University Press Journal).
• "Taxation, the Private Law, and Distributive Justice," 23 Social Philosophy & Policy, 142 (2006) (with Kordana) (Cambridge University Press Journal).
• "Rawls and Contract Law," 73 George Washington Law Review 701 (2005) (with Kordana).
• "Tax and the Philosopher's Stone," 89 Virginia Law Review 647 (2003) (with Kordana).

References

1. "Legal News > Your source for information behind the law". legalnews.com. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
2. "FACULTY VOICES: DAVID BLANKFEIN-TABACHNICK". Issuu. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
3. "Legal News > Your source for information behind the law". legalnews.com. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
4. "On Rawlsian Contractualism and the Private Law - Virginia Law Review". virginialawreview.org. November 30, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
5. "A Response to David Blankfein-Tabachnick & Kevin A. Kordana, On Rawlsian Contractualism and the Private Law - Virginia Law Review". virginialawreview.org. May 13, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
6. Keating, Gregory (September 29, 2023). "Shifting the Paradigm in Private Law Theory". Torts. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
7. Merges, Robert P. (September 30, 2013). "Foundations and Principles Redux: A Reply to Professor Blankfein-Tabachnick". California Law Review. 101.
8. "Legal News > Your source for information behind the law". legalnews.com. Retrieved July 15, 2025.