Professor of Law
Professor Joshua Fershee joined the faculty at West Virginia University College of Law in fall 2012. He is a globally recognized expert in the areas of energy law and policy and business law and entity governance, and serves as Research Faculty and the Head of the Economic and Community Development Group in theCenter for Innovation in Gas Research and Utilization, which is located in the Benajmin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. He is also a co-investigator (with John Hu and Cosmin Dumitrescu) on a $1.26M Research Challenge Grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. He served as Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development from June 2015 to June 2018.
Professor Fershee has presented his research in Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom. His business research focuses of the proper recognition, description, and roles of different entities. Professor Fershee has taught about energy and cyber security in Geneva, Switzerland, and has presented his work discussing the economic, environmental, and social opportunities and challenges related to shale oil and gas development to numerous U.S. audiences and to delegations from multiple countries, including Lithuania, Brazil, South Africa, Mongolia, Ukraine, Colombia, and Indonesia.
His research has appeared in a variety of journals, including the Harvard Journal on Legislation, Harvard Business Law Review Online, William and Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, and the Energy Law Journal. He is the author of two casebooks, Energy Law, A Context and Practice Casebook (Carolina Academic Press) and Unincorporated Business Entities (5th ed.) (LexisNexus) and recently published a book chapter published by Oxford University Press. He is also a co-editor of the Business Law Prof Blog.
Professor Fershee began his legal career in New York City, where his practice focused on business law issues, and then moved to Washington, D.C., where his focus was primarily on energy law matters. Before his legal career, Professor Fershee worked for a Washington, D.C.-based trade association comprised of video and computer game companies where he coordinated the media relations program and conducted intellectual property and anti-piracy training sessions for law enforcement officials (e.g., U.S. Customs and FBI), media, and other key audiences. He then served as a public relations professional in the entertainment technology industry specializing in strategic planning, brand management, and crisis communications with two Los Angeles public relations agencies.
Professor Fershee received his J.D. magna cum laude from Tulane Law School, where he was elected Order of the Coif and editor in chief of the Tulane Law Review. He is also a graduate of Michigan State University, where he received a B.A. in Social Science, with a focus on economics, psychology, and sociology. Before joining WVU, Professor Fershee served as Associate Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Research at the University of North Dakota School of Law. Prior to that, he served as a visiting assistant professor of law at Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law in State College, PA.
Download Joshua Fershee's presentation from Academic Media Day.