Robert W. Gordon on Brandeis

08Mar11

I received the latest issue of the Journal of Legal Education (February 2011, v. 60 no. 3) about a month ago. I noticed that it had a review of Mel Urofsky’s biography of Louis D. Brandeis in it, but it seemed rather late in the day for another book review, so I threw it on my desk and forgot about it. I finally got around to reading it tonight and was pleasantly surprised. The article is more than “just” a book review–in fact, Gordon doesn’t even get around to discussing the book until the last two pages. (For the record: Gordon says the book is “probably” the best of the Brandeis biographies.) Instead, Gordon uses the book as an opportunity to discuss Brandeis in his roles as public service lawyer, judge and social/economic theorist. It’s an illuminating read, and as a professor at Yale Law School who specializes in (among other areas) the legal profession and legal history, one that Gordon was particularly qualified to write.

You can find the article online at the Journal of Legal History‘s web page.