Will Berry is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi, where he has been teaching since the fall of 2008.  During his time at Ole Miss, he has taught a variety of classes, including criminal law, capital punishment, white collar crime, international criminal law, sports law, torts I & II, labor law, employer-employee relations, and employment discrimination.  A gifted teacher, Professor Berry was selected by the students as the Outstanding Law Professor for the 2008-09 academic year.

Professor Berry’s scholarship is primarily in the areas of capital punishment, sentencing, substantive criminal law, and sports law.  His publications include articles in the Arizona Law Review, the Connecticut Law Review, the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Florida Law Review, the Georgia Law Review, the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, the Maryland Law Review, the Ohio State Law Journal, the Virginia Law Review In Brief, and the Wisconsin Law Review.  In addition, he facilitated the development of a new law journal at Ole Miss, the Mississippi Sports Law Review, which commenced during the 2011-12 academic year.  Professor Berry’s work is available on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN).

Professor Berry received his Doctor of Philosophy (D. Phil.) in law from the University of Oxford (UK), where he also received an Master’s of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Criminology.  Supervised by Dr. Carolyn Hoyle, his doctoral thesis assessed the use of proportionality review in capital cases by the Ohio Supreme Court.

In addition, Professor Berry received his law degree from Vanderbilt University and his undergraduate degree in English from the University of Virginia. After law school, Professor Berry clerked for the Honorable Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr. in the Middle District of Tennessee and the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  In addition, Professor Berry practiced law in Washington, D.C. with the firm of Shea & Gardner (now Goodwin Procter).  Professor Berry has litigation experience in a variety of areas including complex commercial litigation, products liability, business torts, criminal law, and employment litigation.