EDMUND BURKELouis H. Pollak – former dean at both Yale and Penn law schools – died on Tuesday. After leaving academia in 1978, Pollak served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where years ago I had the great pleasure of appearing before him in a number of cases.
Pollak was a lawyer’s judge, and arguing a motion before him was a rare and wonderful experience. Before Pollak come on the bench, a law clerk would line up volumes of case reporters, with bookmarks to relevant case opinions sticking out on top. What then ensued was a discussion with an extremely well prepared – not to mention, brilliant – judge, who had read not just the briefs but all of the bookmarked cases, and who asked marvelous questions about the facts, the law, and the consequences of his possible rulings. I use the word “discussion” for that was the tone he struck. He treated the lawyers with respect – more as colleagues than as subordinates – and truly listened to them. Although arguing before him was challenging, it was also fun because he clearly enjoyed it so much. When argument was over, Judge Pollak came down into the well of the courtroom to shake counsels’ hands. Informal discussions in chambers were similar but with the judge’s beautiful golden retrievers lounging on the floor.
Truth be told, parties weren't always as taken with Judge Pollak as lawyers. He had spent most of his career in academia and had less experience with the gritty realities of the world than judges who ascend to the bench after long experience in the practice of law or politics. He approached things at higher levels of abstract thought than some parties thought practical. He was an optimist, and he was sometimes too ready to assume that everyone was motivated by good intentions. My experiences with him, however, were in his relatively early days on the bench. After seeing more of the darker side of things, as is inevitable for a trial judge, he may have acquired greater skepticism. If this was a failing, however, it was due to Pollak’s genuine respect for other human beings.
Several years ago, on a lovely day in May in Bristol, Rhode Island, Louis Pollak gave the commencement address at my school, the Roger Williams University School of Law. He delivered an eloquent and impassioned jeremiad for justice – just the message for sending off newly-minted lawyers. Pollak cared deeply about justice and devoted his considerable talents to serving its cause. He will be missed.