Neil Hamilton Profile

Former Director of the Drake Agricultural Law Center

Professor Emeritus of Law

515-271-2065
neil.hamilton@drake.edu

Areas of Expertise

Agricultural Law, Land Use, Legislation, Food and the Law, Environmental Regulation of Agriculture, Wind Law

Education

JD – University of Iowa, Order of the Coif
BS – Iowa State University (with honors and distinction)

Professional Experience

Drake Law School professor since 1983
Assistant Attorney General for the Iowa Department of Justice
Assistant professor at the University of Arkansas

Selected Publications

• Keeping the Farm and Farmer in Food Policy and Law, 11 Journal of Food Law & Policy 9 (2015).
• Farms, Food, and the Future: Legal Issues and Fifteen Years of the “New Agriculture”, 26 Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation 1 (2011).
• America's New Agrarians: Policy Opportunities and Legal Innovations to Support New Farmers, 22 Fordham Environmental Law Review 523 (2011).
• Farming an Uncertain Climate Future: What COP 15 Means for Agriculture, 2011 University of Illinois Law Review 341.
• The Legal Guide to Direct Farm Marketing (Drake University Agricultural Law Center, 1999).

Significant Accomplishments

• Member of the Board of Directors for the Iowa National Heritage Foundation
• Past president of the American Agricultural Law Association
• Chair of the Iowa Food Policy Council (2000-2007)
• Past chair of the Agriculture Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools
• Vice chair of the USDA Small Farms Advisory Committee (1997-2000)