John A. E. Pottow

John Anthony Edwards Pottow is the John Philip Dawson Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, specializing in international commercial law, bankruptcy and consumer finance. In addition to scholarship, Pottow is known for pro bono work and has argued pro bono cases before the United States Supreme Court and several United States Courts of Appeals, winning an award for pro bono service.

Early life and education Pottow was born in Canada. He graduated from Upper Canada College in 1989. He received an A.B. summa cum laude in psychology, Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard College in 1993, While at Harvard, Pottow received the John Harvard Annual Scholarship all four years, and was awarded the Gordon Allport Prize in Psychology and the Thomas T. Hoopes, Class of 1919, Prize. As a freshman, Pottow attended the last lecture ever delivered by B. F. Skinner. He was also a student under professor Elizabeth Warren, which later developed into a professional collaboration.

From 1993 to 1994, Pottow worked at Eos Partners, LP, a private equity hedge fund in New York, as chief financial officer.

Pottow earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was treasurer of the Harvard Law Review, in 1997. In 2009, Pottow, Steven P. Croley, and Eric Posner were commissioned by the Troubled Asset Relief Program Congressional Oversight Panel to provide outside legal opinions on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and TARP.

Pottow has written on the "stickiness of default rules," on elder bankruptcy, and on the effects of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which significantly revised the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. He has critiqued the nondischargeability of student loan debt in personal bankruptcy proceedings. Pottow has also written extensively on international business law issues.

Pottow co-authors a leading bankruptcy textbook, The Law of Debtors and Creditors (8th edition, Wolters Kluwer 2021), along with Elizabeth Warren, Jay Lawrence Westbrook, and Katie Porter. His pro bono litigation includes the successful representation of the respondent in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Arkison before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Pottow has provided commentary on legal issues in a variety of forums including New York Times, USA Today, and NPR. He has been an expert witness in several commercial law cases. He won the 2005 L. Hart Wright Award for Excellence in Teaching at Michigan in 2005. He is also a licensed barrister and solicitor in Ontario.

Pottow is an elected member of American Law Institute, American College of Bankruptcy, and International Insolvency Institute.

Personal life Pottow is married to Reshma Jagsi, a radiation oncologist and professor at the University of Michigan Medical School; they have two children. Pottow holds American, Canadian, and European Union citizenship. He speaks American Sign Language and French.