Juliet Moringiello - One of the Greats

Juliet Moringiello was an amazing person. Her alchemy of brain and spirit and energy and heart and common sense made a positive difference for so many people, across disparate places and professions. She could teach you how to navigate a commercial law and to downhill ski.

Testaments from Widener University Commonwealth Law School and professional organizations illustrate how Juliet served academic and legal communities with distinction. Examples include the Uniform Law Commission (including an instrumental role in the development of the 2022 amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code), American Law Institute projects, and as a scholar-in-residence for the American Bankruptcy Institute. Juliet did these things while also serving in critical leadership roles at Widener and offering engaged and committed classroom teaching, including first-year property law and an array of upper level classes and seminars. 

Chris Odinet's memorial captures beautifully Juliet's commitment to helping others and building communities. As reflected in the mentoring award she recently received from the Commercial and Consumer Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools, Juliet did so much behind the scenes to lift up others and to help them improve their research and analysis. 

Juliet was ideally positioned for mentoring because her own scholarship was creative and wide-ranging and yet reflected care and attention to detail. She offered important insights on municipal bankruptcy and related state law procedures. Whereas scholars and jurists long have referred to the "Butner principle" in the abstract, Juliet closely studied the case for which the principle is named, which turned out not to match how it was remembered. She explored poorly drafted statutory language that since 2005 has affected the treatment of car loans in Chapter 13 repayment plans for individuals and proposed an analytical framework accordingly. These are just a few of the examples of her writings in which a reader can find careful and sustained attention to the relationship between state and federal law. 

With respect to state secured transactions law, Juliet comfortably traversed the border between real property and personal property. The problems dwelling from the tangible-intangible divide of personal property particularly attracted her attention. She explored puzzles that arise, for example, when one tries to apply fundamental concepts such as possession to remotely controlled activities.

And those projects dovetailed with Juliet's longstanding interest in understanding emerging technologies, and her ability to demystify how foundational commercial law concepts can be squared with innovation - from software licensing agreements and electronic contracting, to cyberspace and domain names and Second Life, to non-fungible tokens. As popular subjects for scholarship, writings on hot tech topics risk ephemerality. Juliet's work is built to last. She made these issues accessible while demonstrating how they could and should be situated in broader legal frameworks.

Of course, these professional interests were part of a rich multi-faceted life of family and friends, of appreciating the sights and nature in Pennsylvania, in Quebec, and anywhere and everywhere she traveled. When there wasn't enough snow for skiis, you might find her on a hike. Or on a bike. Or a paddleboard. 

Juliet Moringiello offers inspiration to do impactful work, to help others, and to spend time on the the things you love. Deepest condolences to her family. 

Comments

[Edwin Smith]

Thanks for posting, Melissa. It is so sad to lose such a remarkable person - a colleague, friend, and inspiration, as you mention. We will cherish our memories of her. Ed

[Nancy Rapoport]

She was unfailingly kind and encouraging. Every time I spoke with her, I came away with a sense of her deep commitment to our field and to the professionals in our field. I will miss her.

[Adam Levitin]

What a loss. I was lucky enough have Juliet as a co-conspirator in the opposition to the Restatement of Consumer Contracts, and I learned so much from her regarding the intersection of the UCC with cryptocurrency. She was really one of the thought leaders in that space. She will be greatly missed.

[K. Bruce]

Thank you for this lovely tribute, Melissa. Juliet was such an impactful scholar and teacher, but also a lot of fun. I will really miss her.

[Bob Lawless]

Thank you, Melissa, for posting this. Juliet wrote about and worked on things that mattered. She is a great model for younger scholars to emulate, as the AALS rightly recognized through the mentoring award. This is a tremendous loss for our scholarly community.

[John Pottow]

Still reeling from this news. thanks, melissa, for taking the lead to memorialize such a generous colleague and friend. those of us fortunate enough to have worked with juliet will never forget her irrepressible spirit. may her family be comforted and she rest in peace.