Carl Zollmann: Aviation Law Casebook Pioneer

Abstract

Aviation law, after years of languishing on the sidelines, currently is enjoying unprecedented popularity in American law schools. Much of this interest has to do with the terrible events of September 11, which dramatically reshaped the airline industry while making it clear just how much our society depends on air travel. But at least some of the attention is due to the fact that, for the first time in history, instructors can choose from three competing aviation law casebooks. Previously, there had never been more than one text available at any given moment, and during many periods no such work existed.

The current crop of writings continues a line of legal scholarship that traces its roots back to Carl Zollmann, a Marquette University law professor who published one of the first aviation law hornbooks and the first aviation law casebook. In his heyday, Zollmann (often incorrectly identified in print as "Zollman") was a figure of towering importance, yet today scarcely anyone remembers him. Accordingly, it is the purpose of this essay to shed some light on a man who has receded into history's shadows even as the field he did so much to create prospers.

Keywords: aviation law, Carl Zollman, aviation law casebook, aviation law hornbook

JEL Classification: K39