FARMINGTON — Why, in America today, is there so much political discord? Why is there so much controversy over so many social issues? These questions will be examined by the University of Maine at Farmington Public Classroom series with “Social Change and the Crisis of American Law,” a presentation by Frank Underkuffler, Maine attorney and UMF faculty member.

The talk will take place at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30, in the UMF Emery Community Arts Center. It is free and open to the public.

Underkuffler’s thesis is that the problem is not “them” or “us” but “it,” and with this presentation, he will put the law on trial. He will place the blame for the nation’s present difficulties, not on persons, parties or ideologies, but on the adversarial legal system itself, and more particularly, on that system’s almost complete disregard for social change.

He will trace this systemic failure back to the English common law, on which the legal system is based, and he will show how it has created chaos in the nation’s legislatures, courtrooms and streets.

Underkuffler studied philosophy at Oxford University and law at the University of Minnesota. He has practiced law since 1985, with a concentration in public sector law. He is the attorney for Franklin County, the Town of Farmington and many other area towns. He regularly teaches courses in philosophy, including philosophy of law, at UMF.

The UMF Public Classroom Series is sponsored by the UMF Office of the President.

Frank Underkuffler

Frank Underkuffler