John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law Emeritus
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Fax
(706) 542-5556

University of Georgia
School of Law
Athens, GA 30602
United States

B.S., Spring Hill College
LL.B., University of Virginia

Courses

Secured Transactions
Commercial Paper
Contracts

Biographical Information

Julian B. McDonnell, John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law Emeritus, retired from Georgia Law in 2003 after 30 years of teaching and service as a member of the law school's faculty. He specialized in contracts, commercial paper and secured transactions.

His scholarship includes five books: Uniform Commercial Code: Analysis of Revised Article 9 (with Full Text and Official Comments of 1998 Revised Article 9) (1999); Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code (principal author and editor in chief with Coogan, Hogan & Vagts), a five-volume treatise which is revised tri-annually; Commercial and Consumer Warranties (with Coleman), a three-volume treatise which is revised annually; Common Law & Equity Under the Uniform Commercial Code (1985, with Hillman and Nickles, supplements published 1986-91); and Commercial Transactions: Payment Systems; Sales; Secured Finance (a three-volume set published in 1982, with Frankel and Nimmer). McDonnell's articles include: "The Sale of Promissory Notes Under Revised Article 9: Cooking Securitization Stew" in the Banking Law Journal (2000, with Hitchcock); "Is Revised Article 9 a Little Greedy?" in Commercial Law Journal (1999) and "Securing Consumer Credit Card Accounts With Goods Purchased: Celebration of Freedom or Exercise in Bondage" in the Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal (1999).

A scholar whose works have immense practical impact, McDonnell was the principal drafter of the Georgia Financial Institutions Code (enacted in 1974 as the code for Georgia state banks) and the Georgia Article Nine Revision (enacted in 1978).

Respected by his students, McDonnell was selected by members of the graduating class to receive the Faculty Book Award for Teaching Excellence on five occasions and has also been awarded the Professional Responsibility Award.

McDonnell earned his bachelor's degree from Spring Hill College and his law degree from the University of Virginia. He served one year in Vietnam upon graduation from law school, then taught at the University of Alabama School of Law. In 1970, he joined Hansell, Post, Brandon & Dorsey in Atlanta and worked with the firm for two years before joining the UGA law faculty. During his tenure at UGA, he also taught at Puerto Rico, Texas and Utah as well as in the law school's faculty exchange with the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Publications & Activities

ARTICLES
BOOKS
CHAPTERS

ARTICLES

The Sale of Promissory Notes under Revised Article 9: Cooking Securitization Stew, 117 Banking L.J. 99 (2000) (with John Hitchcock).

Is Revised Article 9 a Little Greedy? 104 Com. L.J. 241 (1999).

Securing Consumer Credit Card Accounts with Goods Purchased: Celebration of Freedom or Exercise in Bondage, 31 UCC L.J. 332 (1999).

Definition and Dialogue in Commercial law, 89 Nw. L. Rev. 623 (1995).

The Code Project Confronts Fundamental Dilemmas, 26 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 683 (1993).

Bank Liability for Fraudulent Checks: The Clash of the Utilitarian and Paternalist Creeds Under the Uniform Commercial Code, 73 Geo. L. J. 1399 (1985).

Problems With Notes: Accrual, Acceleration, and Suretyship, 18 UCC L. J. 40 (1985).

Freedom from Claims and Defenses: A Study in Judicial Activism Under the Uniform Commercial Code, 17 Ga. L. Rev. 569 (1983).

Current Developments Under UCC Article Two, 36 Bus. Law. 809 (1981).

Note on the Georgia Contracts Code, 13 Ga. L. Rev. 449 (1979).

Floating Lienor as Good Faith Purchaser, 50 S. Cal. L. Rev. 429 (1977).

Purposive Interpretation of the Uniform Commercial Code: Some Implications for Jurisprudence, 126 U. Penn. L. Rev. 795 (1978).

New Georgia Financial Institutions Code, 11 Ga. St. B. J. 225 (1975).

Rapid Decline of Privity in the Modern Law of Commercial Paper, 30 Bus. Law. 203 (1974).

Sniadach (Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp. 89 Sup. Ct. 1820): The Replevin Cases and Self-Help Repossession -- Due Process Tokenism?, 14 B.C. Indus. & Com. L. Rev. 437 (1973).

New Privity Puzzle: Products Liability Under Alabama's Uniform Commercial Code, 22 Ala. L. Rev. 455 (1970).

BOOKS

Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code (Matthew Bender, 2006) (2007, 2008 & 2009 revisions).

Commercial & Consumer Warranties (Matthew Bender, 2006) (2007, 2008 & 2009 revisions).

Commercial and Consumer Warranties: Drafting, Performing and Litigating. 2001 Supp. (Matthew Bender, 2001) (with Elizabeth J. Coleman).

Commercial and Consumer Warranties: Drafting, Performing and Litigating. 2000 supp. (Matthew Bender, 2000) (with Elizabeth J. Coleman).

Uniform Commercial Code Analysis of Revised Article 9: with Full Text and Official Comments of 1998 Revised Article 9. (Matthew Bender, 1999).

Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code. (Matthew Bender, 1995) (with Peter F. Coogan).

Commercial and Consumer Warranties in Georgia. (National Business Institute, 1988) (with Elizabeth J. Coleman).

Commercial and Consumer Warranties: Drafting, Performing and Litigating. (Matthew Bender, 1987) (with Elizabeth J. Coleman).

Common Law and Equity Under the Uniform Commercial Code. (Warren, Gorham & Lamont, 1985) (with Robert A. Hillman and Steve H. Nickles).

Commercial Transactions - Payment Systems: Cases and Problems. (Michie Co., 1982) (with Lionel H. Frankel and Raymond T. Nimmer).

Commercial Transactions - Sales: Cases and Problems. (Michie Co., 1982) (with Lionel H. Frankel and Raymond T. Nimmer).

Commercial Transactions - Secured Financing: Cases and Problems. (Michie Co., 1982) (with Lionel H. Frankel and Raymond T. Nimmer).

Cases and Problems on the Law of Payment Systems: Including Negotiable Instruments, Letters of Credit, Credit Cards and Electronic Fund Transfers.(__, 1981) (with Lionel H. Frankel and Raymond T. Nimmer).

Recent Statutory Developments Under the U.C.C. and in Related Areas. Program Materials for Seminar on Banking and Commercial Law: November 21-22, 1980, Atlanta, GA. (Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 1980).

Summary for Commercial Law Litigation Seminar: Prepared for Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia. (Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia, 1979).

Program Materials for Seminar on Georgia's New Article 9 (Secured transactions): Friday, May 19, 1978, Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Peachtree Center. (Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 1978).

CHAPTERS

Revised chapters 9, 1A, 2A, and 6B to Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code (Matthew Bender, 2001) (with Coogan, Hogan and Vagts).

New chapters 7B and 9B to Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code (Matthew Bender, 2001) (with Coogan, Hogan and Vagts).

"Revised Article 9: A Complete Restatement of Personal Property Security Transactions;" "Receivables Financing Under Pre-Revision and Revised Article 9;" and "Proceeds and Priorities in Proceeds Under Pre-Revision and Revised Article 9" in Secured Transactions Under the Uniform Commercial Code. (Matthew Bender, 2000).

"The Bank Collection Process" in Commercial Law and Practice Guide (Matthew Bender, 1991).