Don't forget you can add an empty constructor constraint in c# generics. public T AssignLiteItem<T>(ArchivingItem archivingItem ) where T : Item, new() { T my

Don't forget you can add an empty constructor constraint in c# generics. public T AssignLiteItem<T>(ArchivingItem archivingItem ) where T : Item, new() { T myITem = new T(); myITem.ItemReference = new ItemReference(archivingItem.Id); return myITem; } I do wish the compiler handled constraints for arbitrary constructor signatures on generic types, however...