Experience :Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs and Externships, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law (January 2011-Present); Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law (August 2009-December 2010); Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, University of North Dakota School of Law (August 2007-May 2009); Counsel, GlaxoSmithKline (2005-2007); Associate, Pepper Hamilton LLP (2000-2005).

Bar Admissions: Tennessee, New Jersey (retired), Pennsylvania (inactive), North Dakota (inactive).

Publications: Daniel M. Schaffzin and Margaret Moore Jackson, Preaching to the Trier: Why Judicial Understanding of Law School Clinics is Essential to Continued Progress in Legal Education, 17 Clinical L. Rev. 515 (2011).

Daniel M. Schaffzin, Landlord Weapon or Tenant Shield? A Proposal to Reform North Dakota’s Residential Security Deposit Statute, 85 N.D. L. Rev. 251 (2009) (Lead Article).

Biography: 

Now in his fourth year at The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Professor Schaffzin is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of Clinical Programs and Externships.  Professor Schaffzin teaches the Civil Litigation Clinic, the Housing Adjudication Clinic, the Externship Seminar, and Trial Advocacy.  He has also taught Contracts I and II.   Since arriving at the law school, Professor Schaffzin has served as the coach of the National Trial Team.

Prior to joining the law school faculty, Professor Schaffzin was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law, instructing the school’s Housing and Employment Litigation Clinic.  While at the University of North Dakota Law School, he also coached the school’s National Trial Team.  In both 2008 and 2009, the UND team won its Regional Championship and advanced as National Finalists in the National Trial Competition sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association.

Professor Schaffzin began his career at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia.  At Pepper, he worked for five years as an associate in the firm’s Health Effects Litigation Practice Group and focused his practice on pharmaceutical and medical device products liability litigation.  Professor Schaffzin also maintained an active pro bono practice, including work on a successful death penalty appeal under the Pennsylvania Post-Conviction Relief Act.  He received the Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Award in 2005.

In 2005, Professor Schaffzin joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as Counsel in the pharmaceutical company’s U.S. Legal Operations group.  At GSK, Professor Schaffzin served on the Sales, Marketing, and Managed Care Legal Team, providing guidance to the company’s diabetes franchise and pediatric vaccines product teams, as well as to several sales regions, concerning product promotion, fraud and abuse, and general regulatory compliance issues.

Before starting his legal career, Professor Schaffzin served as a public affairs officer at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.

Email:  dschffzn@memphis.edu