John W. Fisher, II

Education
A.B., West Virginia University, 1964
J.D., West Virginia University, 1967
Member, Order of the Coif
Editor in Chief, West Virginia Law Review

Biography
John W. Fisher, II, the 15th Dean of West Virgina University College of Law has been called “the state’s foremost authority in the field of property law,” by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

A Moorefield, West Virginia, native, Fisher received a B.A. in History from WVU in 1964, and a J.D. from the College of Law in 1967. He clerked for The Honorable Robert E. Maxwell (‘49) upon graduation, then spent three years as a lecturer at the College of Law prior to his joining the faculty as a full-time assistant professor in 1971. During the 1980s, he served a four-year term as WVU Chief of Staff and advisor to the Office of the President. He considered it an honor and a privilege to serve as Dean of the College of Law from 1998 through 2008.

Publications

  • The Evolution of Restrictive Covenants, 100 W.Va. Law Rev. (1997-98)
  • Creditors of a Joint Tenant: Is There a Lien After Death? 99 W.Va. Law Rev. 637 (1997)
  • The Scope of Title Examination In West Virginia: Can Reasonable Minds Differ? 98 W.Va. Law Rev. 449 (1996). Cited as the authority for the Court’s decision in McClung Investments, Inc. v. Green Valley Community Public Service District 485 SE 2d 434 at 437 (W.Va. 1997)

Professional Experience

  • Dean, April 2, 1998 – present
  • Interim Dean, July 1, 1997- April 2, 1998
  • Professor of Law, WVU College of Law, 1977-present

Public Service

  • Member, Board of Advisors, West Virginia University, 1998-2000
  • Member, West Virginia University-University of Charleston Collaboration Team, 1997-99
  • Faculty Advisor for Mountain Honorary, selected by student members, 1996-2008
  • Public Service: [Previous Page]
  • Member, Board of Advisors, West Virginia University, 1998-2000
  • Member, West Virginia University-University of Charleston Collaboration Team, 1997-99
  • Faculty Advisor for Mountain Honorary, selected by student members, 1996-present
  • CLE presentation, Real Estate Seminar – Update, November, 1997
  • Helped to prepare the materials and provide orientation lecture for the WVU College of Law Appalachian Center for Law and Public Service’s Wills Project, 1994-97
  • Member of the Selection Committees for the WVU Order of Augusta/WVU Foundation Outstanding Seniors Selection Committee, 1994-96
  • The Law in Your Life—Public Television panel discussion of Landlord/Tenant and Real Property Law, 1995
  • Member of the West Virginia University Administrative Organization Task Force, 1995
  • CLE Presentation, Proposed Marketable Title Legislation, 1995
  • Member of Committee which drafted new Local Rules for Civil Practice, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, 1994-95
  • Chair of the Berry Scholarship Selection Committee, 1989-94. (The Berry Scholarships are one of the major merit-based scholarship programs at West Virginia University)
  • Drafted statutory provision on limited liability for Landowners granting easements to the Hatfield-McCoy Trials Project – adopted by the WV Legislature in 1994
  • University Senate representing West Virginia University College of Law 1980-82, 1991-94
  • CLE presentations on the new Law of Intestate Succession and Elective Share for West Virginia Continuing Legal Education and to the State Judicial Conference, 1992
  • Reporter – West Virginia Law Institute Project on Intestate Succession and Elective Shares, (1991-92) (proposed legislation adopted March 1992, effective June 5, 1992)
  • West Virginia State Bar Foundation, Board of Directors, 1989-92
  • Co-Reporter Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee, 1991
  • Faculty Representative to West Virginia University Athletic Council, 1988-91
  • Chair of Search Committee for Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, West Virginia University, 1989
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