Donald J. Polden served as dean of Santa Clara University School of Law from 2003 to 2013 and he has taught courses in antitrust law, mergers and acquisitions, sports law, non-profit organizations and leadership skills and development for lawyers. He is a nationally known expert in the areas of employment and labor law, leadership, and antitrust and trade regulation law and policy.
Polden launched one of the first leadership development and training programs at American law schools more than two decades ago and has been referred to as “the grandfather of leadership education for lawyers.” Because of his work in lawyer leadership, he is frequently asked to lecture on the subject including at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s College. He is the co-author (with Barry Posner of “The Leadership Challenge”) of “Leading in Law: Leadership Development for Law Students” (Carolina Academic Press) as well as many journal articles on leadership training. He joined with several leading leadership educators to form the Section on Leadership of the American Association of Law Schools which he served as chair in 2021. He is also co-author of a book on leadership and ethics in sports, a contributing author of a chapter on leadership of the compliance and risk management function in Routledge Handbook of Risk Management and the Law (2023), and author of a chapter on strategic leadership skills of law deans. In promoting the importance of leadership development by lawyers and law students, Polden is responsible for the creation of Santa Clara’s Institute for Lawyer Leadership Education.
Polden is frequently called upon by media outlets for his insights into contemporary competition and employment law issues, including litigation involving competitive practices by technology companies in Silicon Valley. He also consults with law firms on litigation, including service as an expert witness. Prior to entering the legal academy, he litigated antitrust cases in federal courts including several jury trials and litigation in federal appellate courts. His antitrust law scholarship has been cited by the United State Supreme Court and state and federal courts.
As Dean of Santa Clara’s law school, Polden launched a comprehensive effort that resulted in the construction of Charney Hall, a contemporary structure for a modern American law school. Prior to joining the faculty as Dean at Santa Clara, Polden served as Dean of the University of Memphis Law School from 1993-2003. He also served in leadership roles within the American Bar Association including his service as Chair of the ABA’s Standard Review Committee during its comprehensive review of national accreditation policies.
He was elected to membership in the American Law Institute in 1992, where he has served on several consultative groups. He was selected for membership in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and received the Owens Lawyer of the Year Award from Santa Clara University Law School.
J.D., cum laude, Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, 1975
B.B.A., George Washington University, 1970
Leadership for Lawyers, Antitrust Law, Employment and Labor Law, Law of Non-Profit Organizations, and U.S. corporations law.
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Books
Leading in Law: Leadership Development for Law Students with Barry Z. Posner. Carolina Academic Press (2022)
Employment Relationships: Law and Practice with Bennett and Rubin. Aspen Law & Business (1998-) (Updated annually) | Link to Library Catalog
Regulation of Unfair Competition: Cases and Materials. Drake University Law School (1978)
Chapters
Key Strategies to Enhance a Dean's Effectiveness in Law School Leadership Strategies: Top Deans on Benchmarking Success, Incorporating Feedback from Faculty and Students, and Building the Endowment. Aspatore Books (2006) | Link to Library Catalog
Judicial Education and the Law Schools in Education for Development: The Voices of Practitioners in the Judiciary. Claxton and Ochsman, editors. Judicial Education Reference, Information and Technical Transfer Project (1995)
Corporations and the Law in Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System: Studies of the Principal Institutions and Process of Law. Janosik, editor. Scribner (1987)
Articles
Leadership to Address Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession, with Anderson, 62 Santa Clara L. Rev. 63 (2022)
More Diversity Requires More Inclusive Leaders Leading by Example in Law Organizations, with Teague, 48 Hofstra L. Rev. (2020)
Lawyer Leadership in the Practice of Law, 14 Tenn. J. L & Pol’y 441 (2020)
Restraints on Workers’ Wages and Mobility: No-Poach Agreements and the Antitrust Laws, 59 Santa Clara L. Rev. 577 (2020)
Lawyers, Leadership and Innovation, 58 Santa Clara Law Review 427 (2019)
Leading Institutional Change: Law Schools and Legal Education in A Time of Crisis, 83 University of Tennessee Law Review 949 (2016)
The Baseball Exemption: An Anomaly Whose Time Has Run, with Gregory, 24 Competition 154 (2015)
Leadership Matters: Lawyers' Leadership Skills and Competencies, 52 Santa Clara Law Review 899-919 (2012) | Link to Digital Commons
Symposium on Leadership Education for Lawyers and Law Students, 52 Santa Clara Law Review 685-688 (2012) | Link to Digital Commons
Comprehensive Review of American Bar Association Law School Accreditation Policies and Procedures: A Summary, 79 Bar Examiner 42-49 (February 2010)
Educating Law Students for Leadership Roles and Responsibilities, 39 Toledo Law Review 353-360 (2008) | Link to Digital Commons
Forty Years After Title VII: Creating an Atmosphere Conducive to Diversity in the Corporate Boardroom, (Civil Rights Anniversary Symposium), 36 University of Memphis Law Review 67-91 (2005) | Link to Digital Commons
Planning and Decision-Making for Law School Information Technology, 18 Santa Clara Computer and High-Technology Law Journal 259-273 (2002) | Link to Digital Commons
Drawing the Appropriate Statute of Limitations in Implied Causes of Action Under Rule 10b-5: A General Framework of Familiar Legal Principles, 40 Drake Law Review 221-254 (1991) | Link to Digital Commons
Antitrust Standing and the Rule Against Resale Price Maintenance, 37 Cleveland State Law Review 179-226 (1989) | Link to Digital Commons
The Antitrust Implications of Credit Insurance Tying Arrangements, 32 Drake Law Review 861-912 (1983) | Link to Digital Commons
Contribution and Claim Reduction in Antitrust Litigation: A Legislative Analysis, with Sullivan, 20 Harvard Journal on Legislation 397-439 (1983) | Link to Digital Commons
Intrabrand Territorial Allocations and the Per Se Rule, with Calkins, 30 Drake Law Review 1-37 (1981) | Link to Digital Commons
Other Articles
Building the Future, 18 Santa Clara Law 22-23 (Spring/Summer 2012)
Remembering Mary Emery: Reflections on the "Real Dean", 18 Santa Clara Law 4-5 (Winter 2012) | Link to Full Text
A Century of Leadership and Service: Contributions of the Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal, A Preface, 27 Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal 1-2 (2011) | Link to Digital Commons
Educating Law Students for Leadership, 3 The Complete Lawyer ___ (October 2007) (online journal)
Introduction--Law and Literature: A Collection of Essays on John Grisham's The Rainmaker, 26 University of Memphis Law Review 1251-1256 (1996) | Link to Digital Commons
Foreword: Scholarship and Legal Education, 24 Memphis State Law Review 1-5 (1993) | Link to Digital Commons