For Immediate Release
September 22, 2010

Media Contact:

Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

 

Robert B. Thompson

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Georgetown University Law Center Dean William M. Treanor is pleased to announce the appointment of Georgetown Law Professor Robert B. Thompson to the Peter P. Weidenbruch, Jr., Professorship in Business Law. 

Established in 2007 with a gift from David R. Belding, Georgetown Law Class of 1971, the Weidenbruch Professorship recognizes Weidenbruch's distinguished service as a member of the Georgetown Law faculty for more than 40 years.

"Robert Thompson is a leading scholar in the fields of corporate and securities law, and this professorship is well-deserved recognition of his achievements," said Treanor.  'We remain deeply grateful to David Belding for honoring Professor Weidenbruch and for his generosity."

Thompson, who served as the Ralph V. Whitworth Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law during the 2009-2010 academic year, joined the full-time faculty this fall.  He came to the Law Center from Vanderbilt University, where he held the New York Alumni Chancellor’s Chair in Law and was Professor of Management. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, he taught for 21 years at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he was the George Alexander Madill Professor of Law and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. He has been a visiting professor at New York University School of Law and Northwestern University School of Law, and he taught intensive courses on international mergers and acquisitions at the University of Sydney Law School.

Thompson teaches courses on corporate law, securities regulation, and mergers and acquisitions at Georgetown Law. He is the author of a number of leading books and articles on corporations, securities and related fields. He has served as editor of the Corporate Practice Commentator, as an adviser to the American Law Institute and as chair of two sections of the Association of American Law Schools. He received a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Weidenbruch received his J.D. from Georgetown Law in 1956 and his LL.M. in taxation in 1957. He served as special attorney in the Tax Court Division of the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office and as tax counsel to Mobil Oil Corporation before joining the Georgetown Law faculty in 1965. During 1972 and 1973, he served as assistant to the commissioner and as assistant commissioner at the IRS. He has also held numerous positions in the Tax Section of the American Bar Association.

In 1975, Weidenbruch was named the Ralph H. Dwan Professor of Taxation at Georgetown Law, where he also served as associate dean for graduate programs from 1975 to 1979. In 1986, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Georgetown. He was named faculty member of the year in 1994, recipient of the Paul R. Dean Alumni Award in 1996 and recipient of the Frank Flegal Award as the outstanding teacher of the year in 1999. He has served as a member of the Georgetown Law Alumni Board since 1986 and is currently an emeritus member.

Belding is the co-founder and director of Max Petroleum, a publicly traded company that focuses on the exploration and production of petroleum in the Republic of Kazakhstan. After graduating from Georgetown Law, he served as a law clerk to the Nevada Supreme Court. He then joined the Reno law firm that later became Breen, Young, Whitehead & Belding, where he concentrated in federal taxation, real property, corporations and commercial litigation.

In 1977, Belding founded Gold Strike Resorts, where he was managing partner and general counsel until 1995. He later served as senior manager at Mandalay Resort Group and as general counsel of Mandalay Development. A partner and member of the advisory board of Valor Equity Partners, he has also been involved in the formation of several private and publicly held companies in the fields of biotechnology and telecommunications. Belding received a B.S. in economics and finance from the University of Arizona in 1968.

 

 

About Georgetown University Law Center 

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body representing more than 60 countries.