Walter D. Coles Professor of Law, Law, Fall 2022 | Rafael I. Pardo researches and teaches in the areas of bankruptcy, commercial law, contracts, and legal history. His published work over the last five years has focused on the intersection of the 1841 Bankruptcy Act, slavery, and race in the antebellum United States. This research serves as the foundation for Pardo’s current book project, The Color of Bankruptcy: Financial Failure and Freedom in the Age of American Slavery, which is under contract with Columbia University Press. Professor Pardo received his BA in history from Yale College and his JD from New York University School of Law. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified as a bankruptcy expert before both houses of Congress.