Education
A.B., Columbia College, 1966
J.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1969
Background
Before entering law teaching, Arthur Best worked in the general counsel’s office of the Federal Communications Commission, as a trial attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, as a project director for Ralph Nader’s Center for Study of Responsive Law, and as a deputy commissioner in the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. He has published broadly in fields including evidence, torts, advertising regulation, dispute resolution, and lawyers’ ethics. Among his books are When Consumers Complain (Columbia University Press: 1981), Evidence: Examples and Explanations (6th edition, Aspen: 2007), Basic Tort Law (2d edition, Aspen: 2007) (co-author), and annual and semi-annual Wigmore on Evidence Supplement volumes (Aspen: since 1995). Recent articles are “Student Evaluations of Law Teaching Work Well: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree,” 40 Southwestern L. Rev.1 (2007), “Impediments to Reasonable Tort Reform: Lessons from the Adoption of Comparative Negligence,” 40 Ind. L. Rev. 1 (2007), “Internet Yellow Page Advertising,” 55 Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 67 (co-author) (2006), and “Manufacturers’ Responsibility for Harms Suffered by Victims of Counterfeiters: A Modern Elaboration of Causation Rules and Fundamental Tort Law Policies,” 8 Currents: Int’l Trade L.J. 43 (Summer 1999).Best has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the law school and as president of the University’s Faculty Senate. He has represented the Association of American Law Schools and the American Bar Association as a member and chair of law school accreditation inspection teams. He has also served on the board of directors of Colorado Lawyers for the Arts and of the Denver-based Hannah Kahn Dance Company.
Publications
- Colorado Evidence 2009-2010 Courtroom Manual, co-authored with Robert Hardaway, Frank Jamison and Glen Weissenberger
LexisNexis, 2009
- Wigmore on Evidence Supplement, (Little, Brown and Co., 1995, 1996, Aspen Publishers, 1997, 1998 and twice-yearly since 1999
- Impediments to Reasonable Tort Reform: Lessons from the Adoption of Comparative Negligence, 40 Ind. L. Rev. 1, 2007
- Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems, (Aspen Publishers, 2003 second edition, 2007
- Evidence: Examples and Explanations, (Little, Brown and Co., 1994; second edition Aspen Publishers, 1997, third edition,1999, fourth edition, 2001, fifth edition 2004, sixth edition 2007) (Chinese language edition; Angle Publishing Co., 2002