Tom Simmons on Conflicts of Interest and Virtual Representatives

Ipse Dixit

In this episode, Tom Simmons, Professor of Law at the University of South Dakota School of Law, discusses his paper, "Conflict-of-Interest-Infected Virtual Representatives and a Cure," published in the South Dakota Law Review. Simmons begins by providing a broad outline of trusts and the role of both representatives and “virtual representatives” in providing adequate notice to trust beneficiaries. He details how the common law created the concept virtual representation, and the roles of the American Law Institute Restatements and the Uniform Trust Code in modern trust law. He then discusses the 2017 reforms to the South Dakota trust statutes, noting how the structure of policymaking on South Dakotan trust law provided for more comprehensive reform. And he describes how the new law works to resolve previous issues and provides theoretical examples. Simmons concludes by detailing what lawyers, policymakers, and legislators should take away from these developments. Simmons's scholarship is available on @SSRN.

This interview was hosted by Luce Nguyen. Nguyen is on Twitter at @NguyenLuce.

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