Marc L. Roark, J.D., LL.M.

About

Marc L. Roark’s research primarily considers how narratives and norms are scaled in property conflicts around housing. Together with Lorna Fox O’Mahony (University of Essex), he is the author of “Squatting and the State: Resilient Property Theory in an Age of Crisis.” His primary areas of work are in the study of housing and homelessness through the lens of property norms. Roark has published 27 articles in U.S. law journals, including: “Homelessness at the Cathedral” (2015) 80 Missouri L. Rev. 53; “Human Impact Statements” (2015) 54 Washburn L. J. 649; “Under-propertied Persons,” 26 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 1 (2017); and “Scaling Commercial Law in Indian Country,” 8 Texas A&M L. Rev. 89 (2020). In “Scaling Commercial Law in Indian Country,” Roark describes how resources, tribal structures, and uniform legal processes influence adoption of secured finance legislation on Indian tribes. His work was the basis of the first economic impact study of secured transactions laws on Indian tribes (See Dippel, Frye, Feir, and Roark, “Secured Transactions Laws and Economic Development on American Indian Reservations, 111 AEA Papers and Proceedings 1” (2021). He is currently working on several projects focused on applying vulnerability theory in the context of resilience gaps and resilient property theory across numerous areas including housing, ruralism, Indian law, and commercial law.

Awards and Honors

• Associate Research Affiliate Professor, University of Pretoria
• Emory University, Fellow, Vulnerability and Human Condition Initiative (2022-2023)
• Visiting Research Fellow, University of Essex (2017)
• Visiting Research Fellow, University of Adelaide (2019)
• Lecturer in Residence at University of Iceland (2023), University of Barcelona (2019), Rovira I Virilli (Sp) (2017), University of Galway (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)