Dean, Yale Law School
1994
Citation:
As Professor and Dean at Yale Law School, you have made profound contributions to legal scholarship and legal education. You were a pioneer in the application of economic theory to law, but you were also among the first to point out its limitations. Your work has celebrated complexity in a world seeking easy answers and in a profession that desires the elegant simplicity of pure logic. In an age dominated by legislation, you have sought to preserve what is best in common law adjudication, not as an archaeological project but as a means of enabling the law to meet the needs of human beings. You have enriched scholarly discourse in ways useful for courts and the legal profession. At the same time, you have reminded us that legal choices should reflect the preferences and needs not of lawyers but of society as a whole. We honor your restless quest for wisdom, always informed by a consciousness of the needs of humanity. In recognition of your outstanding achievements in legal scholarship and education, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law bestows upon you the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Commencement, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law, May 15, 1994.