Memorial Notices
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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…
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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.)
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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.)
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In Memoriam: Herbert Morris (1928-2022)
A longtime UCLA faculty member, there are more details here.
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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.
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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.)
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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…
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In Memoriam: Michael L. Wachter (1943-2022)
A longtime member of the University of Pennsylvania faculty, where he was emeritus, Professor Wachter was well-known for his contributions to labor law and economics and, more recently, corporate law scholarship. The Penn memorial notice is here. (Thanks to Matt Lister for the pointer.)
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In Memoriam: Sherry Colb (1966-2022)
I'm very sorry to report the untimely passing of Professor Sherry Colb, a longtime member of the Cornell Law faculty, who wrote widely on criminal procedure, evidence, feminist jurisprudence, and animal rights, among other areas. There is a memorial notice from her husband, the law professor Michael Dorf, here. UPDATE: An here's a nice example…
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In Memoriam: Browne C. Lewis (1962-2022)
Dean of the law school at North Carolina Central University since 2020, Dean Lewis wrote widely in the areas of artificial intelligence, assisted reproductive technology, environmental racism, and inheritance law. There is an announcement from the NCCU Chancellor here and a memorial notice from the University of Minnesota Law School, of which Dean Lewis was…
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In Memoriam: Kenneth W. Dam (1932-2022)
A longtime member of the University of Chicago Law School faculty, Professor Dam was an expert on issues of domestic and international economic law and policy. He also held important positions in both the public and private sector. The Chicago memorial notice is here.
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In Memoriam: Joseph Raz (1939-2022)
Professor Raz, who was emeritus at both Oxford and Columbia Law School, died this morning in London. There is more about Raz at my philosophy blog.
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In Memoriam: Michael A. Olivas (1951-2022)
A longtime member of the University of Houston law faculty, where he was emeritus, Professor Olivas was a leading expert on higher education law and immigration law, and served in many public capacities, including as General Counsel of the AAUP, as President of the AALS, and as Interim President of the University of Houston-Downtown. A…
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In Memoriam: Walter E. Dellinger III (1941-2022)
A longtime member of the Duke faculty, Professor Dellinger also had a distinguished career in government service and private practice. The NYT obituary is here and the Duke memorial notice is here.
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In Memoriam: Yale Kamisar (1929-2022)
MOVING TO FRONT FROM JANUARY 31-UPDATED Professor Kamisar, a leading figure in criminal procedure who spent most of his career at the University of Michigan Law School, was known as "the father of Miranda," as Justice Ginsburg noted in her tribute to Kamisar upon his retirement. I will add links to memorial notices when they…
Georgy Maksimovich pointed me to this article in Russian: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/05/25/antisovetskie-filosofskie-kontratseptsii