Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

In Memoriam: Thomas Buergenthal (1934-2023)

A leading expert on international law and human rights, Professor Buergenthal was emeritus at George Washington University and also served as a judge on the International Court of Justice.  As a child, he survived the concentration camps, which he he wrote a book about.  I will add links to memorial notices as they appear.

 

In Memoriam: William H. Rodgers, Jr. (1939-2023)

Professor Rodgers, a longtime member of the law faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, was a leading figure in environmental law for decades.  The UW memorial notice is here.

In Memoriam: Sir Basil Markesinis (1944-2023)

A leading scholar, internationally, of comparative law, Sir Basil taught for many years at Cambridge, Oxford, University College London, and the University of Texas at Austin, where I had the pleasure of being his colleague.   Fluent in multiple European languages, he was widely honored for his work in Germany, Italy, France, his native Greece, and the U.K., where he was knighted in 2005.  The Texas memorial notice is here.

ADDENDUM:  An informative obituary from The Telegraph here.

In Memoriam: Lauren Edelman (1955-2023)

A lawyer/sociologist, Professor Edelman was a leading law & society scholar, with a particular interest in workplace issues.  She taught at Wisconsin for a decade and then, since 1996, at Berkeley.  A brief Berkeley memorial notice is here.

(Thanks to Anita Bernstein for the pointer.)

In Memoriam: Michael J. Kelly (1938-2023)

Professor Kelly, an expert in legal ethics and the legal profession, was also a longtime Dean of the law school at the University of Maryland.  The Maryland memorial notice is here.

(Thanks to Robert Condlin for the pointer.)

In Memoriam: Kent Greenawalt (1936-2023)

Professor Greenawalt just recently retired from Columbia Law School, where he taught for more than fifty years and from which he also graduated.  He was well-known for influential articles and books on a wide array of topics in constitutional law (especially the First Amendment), criminal law, and jurisprudence.  I will add links to memorial notices as they appear.

UPDATE:   Professor Greenawalt's son, Sasha, also a law professor, kindly gave permission to share this beautiful tribute to his father.

ANOTHER:  Columbia's memorial notice is here.

In Memoriam: Herbert Morris (1928-2022)

A longtime UCLA faculty member, there are more details here.

In Memoriam: Stephen A. Smith (1958-2022)

I was very sorry to learn of the passing of Professor Smith, a distinguished private law theorist and longtime faculty member at McGill University.  Early in his career, he visited at Texas, when I taught there, and I very much enjoyed getting to know him then.  The McGill memorial notice is here.

In Memoriam: Dmitry Karshtedt (1977-2022)

I'm sorry to report the untimely passing of Professor Karshtedt, a well-regarded patent law scholar, who was recently tenured at George Washington University.  There are memorials here, here, and here.

(Thanks to Sean Seymore for the information.)

In Memoriam: David Lieberman (1953-2022)

MOVING TO FRONT FROM SEPTEMBER 13--UPDATED

A longtime member of the Jurisprudence & Social Policy faculty at Berkeley's law school, Professor Lieberman had only retired earlier this year.  He was well-known for his contributions to legal history, especially the intellectual history of legal theory.  There is more at the Legal History Blog from legal historian Dan Ernst (Georgetown).  I will add links to memorial notices when they appear.

UPDATE:   A memorial page from the JSP program, along with remembrances from friends, colleagues and former students.  (Thanks to Chris Kutz for the pointer.)