About Us

E-mail address: searlecenter@law.northwestern.edu
Phone: (312) 503-1811
Fax: (312) 503-1800

Executive Director
Henry N. Butler, a leading public policy analyst and law and economics specialist who has devoted much of his career to improving the country’s civil justice system through judicial education programs, has been named the first executive director of the Searle Center at Northwestern University School of Law.

He comes to Northwestern from Chapman University where he was the James Farley Professor of Economics in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics and a professor of law. Prior to his tenure at Chapman, Butler was the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Distinguished Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Kansas. Before that he was a professor at George Mason University School of Law, and he spent one year as a John M. Olin Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. He received a PhD in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Richmond, Virginia.

Coordinator
Derek H. Gundersen, primarily coordinates the Searle Center's Legal and Regulatory Studies academic conferences and events. He has been an employee of Northwestern University School of Law since 1996, and was the 2006 recipient of the John F. Chetlain Employee of the Year award.

Research Coordinator
Elise Nelson is a Research Coordinator with the Searle Civil Justice Institute. She provides research support including data collection and analysis for the SCJI's various initiatives. Elise is a May 2008 graduate of Hope College in Michigan having received her B.A. in Economics and Spanish. Her senior research project used econometric techniques to explore the effects of industrialization on the agriculturally based economy of Argentina .

Associate Director of Development
Lance A. Schart, brings 15 years of corporate relations and non-profit fundraising experience to the Searle Center and has experience in the health care, pharmaceutical, insurance, and education fields. His free-market public policy experience began in 1989 as a Congressional Intern in Illinois' 13th Congressional District (DuPage county), and continued under Morton C. Blackwell, former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, VA. Lance received his B.A. in Public Service from Northern Illinois University.

Research Associate
Samantha Zyontz provides research support, including data management, for the Searle Center 's research initiatives. Sam comes to Northwestern with seven years of experience in intellectual property litigation consulting from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Navigant Consulting, Inc. She received her M.S. in Managerial Economics and Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her B.A. in Economics from the College of William & Mary in Virginia .