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Home > Spotlights > Randolph J. May
Fellows spotlight

Randolph J. May

Maryland Fellow

Randolph J. May is a Maryland Fellow and is the Founder and President of The Free State Foundation in Rockville, MD.

Where did you go to law school?

Duke University School of Law.

What does being a Fellow mean to you?

Primarily it provides an opportunity for me to contribute to an organization which aims to advance the goals of our profession and of the rule of law. And after serving as Chair of the Section of Administrative Law and serving in the House of Delegates for six years, it’s another way of staying in touch with other American Bar Association (ABA) leaders.

What type of law do you practice, and how did you become interested in it?

For most of my career I practiced communications law and other types of administrative law. But in 2006, I founded and became President of a think tank, The Free State Foundation, and I remain President of the Foundation as it approaches its tenth anniversary.

If you had not decided to go to law school, what would you have done?

Probably teaching history or political science.

What was the last book you read?

All the Light We Cannot See, a wonderful, gripping novel by Anthony Doerr set in World War II. It’s both sad and hopeful, and beautifully written!

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’ve published several other books before, but my latest book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property – A Natural Rights Perspective, co-authored with Seth Cooper, is the one of which I’m most proud. I think anyone interested in intellectual property law, constitutional history, natural rights philosophy, and our Founders will find it not only informative, but a good read. There is a lot of information in the book about public figures, such as Madison, Jefferson, Noah Webster, Daniel Webster, Justice Joseph Story, and Lincoln that is little know. Writing it was a two year process, but Seth Cooper and I consider it a labor of love.

Past Spotlights

Julianne P. Blanch

Life Fellow and 2025 ABF Fellows Outstanding State Chair Award Recipient

Paul Smith

ABF Board Member and Patron Fellow; Past DC Fellows Officer

Honorable Lora Livingston

ABF Board Member and Life Fellow; President, American Bar Endowment
Frank X. Neuner

Frank X. Neuner, Jr.

Patron Fellow, National Fellows Chair, and Past Louisiana State Chair
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