James W. Ely (Jr.)

James W. Ely Jr. is an American historian and legal scholar who serves as the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law Emeritus and Professor of History Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia and his L.L.B. from Harvard University. Ely is a property rights expert, a legal historian, and an author and editor of several books that have received critical acclaim from legal scholars and historians.