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Exhibit 10(h)

STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT
by and between
J. L. HALSEY CORPORATION
and
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL
dated as of
December 13, 2002

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STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

        THIS STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT (the "Agreement"), dated as of
December 13, 2002, is by and between J. L. Halsey Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (the "Company"), and The University of Chicago Law School (the
"Stockholder"), a Stockholder of the Company.

RECITALS:

        A.    The Stockholder is the owner of 2,000,000 shares of the common
stock, $0.01 par value, of the Company (the "Shares").

        B.    The Company desires to purchase from the Stockholder and the
Stockholder desires to sell to the Company the Shares pursuant to the terms and
conditions hereof.

AGREEMENTS:

        NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of the mutual
covenants contained herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:

        1.    Purchase and Sale of Shares.    Subject to the terms and
conditions hereof, the Stockholder hereby sells, and the Company hereby
purchases, the Shares.

        2.    Payment of Purchase Price.    The purchase price shall be $0.12 in
cash per Share, or an aggregate of $240,000 (such aggregate price being referred
to herein as the "Purchase Price"). Concurrently with the execution of this
Agreement, the Company shall pay the Purchase Price by means of wire transfer or
official bank check payable to the order of the Stockholder.

        3.    Actions by the Stockholder.    Concurrently herewith Stockholder
shall deliver to the Company certificates representing the Shares duly endorsed
to the Company or accompanied by stock powers duly executed by the Stockholder,
in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company, or shall have
arranged for the book-entry delivery of the Shares by causing The Depository
Trust Company ("DTC") to transfer the Shares into the account of a financial
institution identified by the Company that is a participant in the DTC in
accordance with DTC's procedures for such transfer. The Stockholder hereby
irrevocably sells, conveys, transfers, assigns and delivers to the Company any
and all claims, causes of action, suits, demands, liabilities or damages, of any
character whatsoever, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected,
liquidated or unliquidated, absolute or contingent, direct or derivative which
the Stockholder has against the Company or its officers, directors or employees
and each of their respective successors and assigns related to the Stockholder's
status as a Stockholder of the Company (collectively, the "Company Claims"). The
Stockholder represents and warrants that it has not assigned any Company Claims,
and the Stockholder agrees that prior to the termination of this Agreement it
will not assign any Company Claims to any person or entity or pursue any action
in furtherance of any Company Claims.

        4.    Representations and Warranties.    

        (a)   The Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to the Company
that:

          (i)  The Stockholder has the capacity to enter into this Agreement and
to sell, assign, transfer and deliver to the Company, pursuant to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, the Shares;

         (ii)  Except for this Agreement, there are no outstanding options,
warrants or rights to purchase or acquire, or agreements (whether voting or
otherwise) relating to, the Shares;

        (iii)  Except as set forth on Schedule 4(a)(iii) attached hereto, the
Shares are the only shares of capital stock of the Company owned of record or
beneficially by the Stockholder, and the Stockholder owns no options or other
rights to acquire any capital stock of the Company;

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        (iv)  The Stockholder owns of record and beneficially all of the Shares,
free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances and security interests of any
nature whatsoever. Upon purchase of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement, the
Company shall receive good and marketable title to the Shares, free and clear of
all liens, claims, encumbrances and security interests of any nature whatsoever;

         (v)  The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Stockholder
does not, and the performance by the Stockholder of the transactions
contemplated hereby will not, (A) violate, conflict with or result in the
violation or breach of, or constitute a default under, the terms, conditions or
provisions of any agreement to which the Stockholder is a party, (B) violate any
order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, statute, rule or regulation of any
court or federal, state or local administrative agency or commission or other
governmental authority or instrumentality (a "Governmental Entity") applicable
to the Stockholder or (C) require the consent, approval, order or authorization
of, registration, declaration or filing with, or notice to, any Governmental
Entity or third party;

        (vi)  This Agreement is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the
Stockholder enforceable against the Stockholder in accordance with its terms,
except as enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium or
other similar laws relating to creditors' rights generally and except that the
availability of equitable remedies, including specific performance, is subject
to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be
brought; and

       (vii)  The Stockholder acquired, and fully paid for, the Shares on the
dates and in the manner set forth on Exhibit A hereto.

        (b)   The Company hereby represents and warrants to the Stockholder
that:

          (i)  The Company has the capacity to enter into this Agreement and to
buy the Shares from the Stockholder pursuant to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, and will not sell, offer to sell or otherwise dispose of any of the
Shares in violation of the Securities Act of 1933; and

         (ii)  This Agreement is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the
Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as
enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium or other
similar laws relating to creditors' rights generally and except that the
availability of equitable remedies, including specific performance, is subject
to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be
brought.

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        5.    Notices.    All notices and other communications hereunder shall
be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if delivered
personally or on the second business day after such notice or communication has
been sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, with return receipt
requested, as follows:

If to the Company, to:

Mr. David R. Burt
2325-B Renaissance Drive, Suite 21
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Telecopy: (978) 689-3910

with a copy to:

Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
3700 Trammell Crow Center
2001 Ross Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75201
Attention: Michael D. Wortley, Esquire
Telecopy: (214) 999-7732

If to the Stockholder:

Mr. Saul Levmore
Dean and William B Graham Professor
University of Chicago Law School
1111 East 60th street
Chicago, IL 60637

        6.    Waiver and Amendment.    Any provision of this Agreement may be
waived at any time by the party that is entitled to the benefits thereof, and
this Agreement may be amended or supplemented at any time by the written consent
of the parties hereto.

        7.    No Prior Agreements.    This Agreement (a) contains the entire
agreement, and supersedes all other prior agreements and understandings, both
written and oral, between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter
hereof, and (b) is not intended to confer upon any other person any rights or
remedies hereunder.

        8.    Successors and Assigns.    This Agreement shall be binding upon,
inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by and against the parties hereto and
their successors (including administrators and executors of individuals) and
assigns.

        9.    Remedies.    The Stockholder acknowledges and agrees that the
Company would be irreparably damaged in the event that any of the provisions of
this Agreement to be performed by the Stockholder were not performed by it in
accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is
accordingly agreed that the Company shall be entitled to an injunction or
injunctions to redress any breaches of this Agreement and to specifically
enforce the terms and provisions hereof in any action instituted in any court of
the United States or any state thereof having jurisdiction, in addition to any
other remedy to which the Company may be entitled at law or in equity. In the
event litigation shall be necessary to enforce, interpret or rescind the
provisions of this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover
from the other party, in addition to other relief, the prevailing party's
reasonable attorneys' fees for services before trial, at trial and on any appeal
therefrom.

        10.    Expenses.    Except as set forth in Section 9, each of the
parties shall pay its own expenses in connection with the negotiation, execution
and performance of the Agreement. No party has incurred

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any broker's or finder's fee in connection with this Agreement that the other
party will be obligated to pay.

        11.    Counterparts.    This Agreement and any amendments hereto may be
executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be considered to be an
original, but all of which together shall constitute the same instrument.

        12.    Governing Law.    This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard
to its conflict of laws doctrine. The parties hereto consent to being subject to
the jurisdiction of any federal or state court located in the State of Delaware.

        13.    Severability.    If any term, provision or restriction of this
Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or
unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and
restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall
in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.

        14.    Effect of Headings.    The section headings herein are for
convenience only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this
Agreement.

        15.    Survival.    All representations, warranties, covenants and other
agreements and assignments of the parties hereto shall survive the Closing.

        16.    Public Statement.    Each party agrees that it will make no press
release or other public statement or announcement of the terms of this Agreement
or other matters, past, present, or future, relating to the Company's or the
Stockholder's dealings with the Company; provided, however, that nothing
contained herein shall prohibit any party from disclosing the terms of this
Agreement or such other matters if required by law, rule or regulation.

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        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement to as of
the date set forth above.

    STOCKHOLDER:
 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL
 
 
By:

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Name: Saul Levmore
Title: Dean

    COMPANY:
 
 
J. L. HALSEY CORPORATION
 
 
By:

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Name: David R. Burt
Title: Chief Executive Officer

        The undersigned hereby consents to the sale of the Shares by the
Stockholder to the Company in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.

 

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Stephen C. Curley

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EXHIBIT A

Number of Shares

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  Date Acquired

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  Manner Acquired

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2,000,000   August 20, 2002   Gift from Steven C. Curley

A-1

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Schedule 4(a)(iii)

        The Shares were given to the Stockholder on August 20, 2002, on the
condition that the Stockholder would not sell or otherwise dispose of the Shares
prior to August 20, 2003.

A-2

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Exhibit 10(h)