Larry Ribstein: In Memoriam (1946-2011)
On December 24, 2011, our dear colleague, Larry Ribstein, passed away. The intellectual life of everyone who knew him, of this blog, and of the legal academy at large is deeply diminished for his passing.
For many, Larry was an important influence, not only intellectually but personally, as well. Larry was the godfather of this blog, which got its start when a few of us, including Bill Sjostrom, Geoffrey Manne, Josh Wright, Thom Lambert, Henry Manne, Keith Sharfman, Kate Litvak and an anonymous colleague pinch hit for Larry at Ideoblog in November 2005. It took eight of us to fill his shoes, and still his traffic went down. He was a friend, mentor and intellectual touchstone to so many of us who now mourn him and, of course, a husband, father and son to those who will miss him most of all.
The outpouring in the blogosphere from Larry’s friends, admirers, colleagues, and the like is moving, and serves as a testament to his tremendous influence.
Likely everyone who knew him well shares Todd Henderson’s sentiment, as we do:
I will miss him beyond words. I will consider it a life well lived if when I die there is at least one person left behind who feels as I do about Larry.
Remembrances from Truth on the Market bloggers:
- Todd Henderson
- Thom Lambert
- Geoffrey Manne
- Henry Manne
- Paul Rubin
- Keith Sharfman
- Bill Sjostrom
- J.W. Verret
- Josh Wright
Remembrances from others:
- Jonathan Adler
- Atlas Society
- Stephen Bainbridge
- David Bernstein
- Matt Bodie
- Don Boudreaux
- Champaign News-Gazette (with quotes from Andy Morriss, Nuno Garoupa, Henry Butler and Bruce Smith)
- Donald Clarke
- Carolyn Elefant
- Federalist Society
- Joshua Fershee
- Ted Frank
- Erik Gerding
- Tom Ginsburg
- Dave Hoffman
- Christine Hurt
- Daniel Martin Katz
- Tom Kirkendall
- Renee Newman Knake
- Kim Krawiec
- Saul Levmore
- Jeff Lipshaw
- Nelson Lund
- Peter Mahler
- Andy Morriss
- Walter Olson
- Edith Orenstein
- Stefan Padfield
- Alan Palmiter
- Mark Peecher
- C.E. Petit
- Francis Pileggi
- Ellen Podgor
- Nancy Rapoport
- Usha Rodrigues
- Roberta Romano
- Bruce Smith
- Gordon Smith
- Larry Solum
- Ilya Somin
- Robert Chang-hsien Tsai
- Washington Legal Foundation
- Cynthia Williams
- Pejman Yousefzadeh
Cynthia Williams said
It is hard to imagine the University of Illinois College of Law without Larry. He has been indefatigable in mentoring others, reading people’s work, arranging discussions of works in progress, organizing reading groups, bringing corporate law scholars to campus for his Business Law Symposium, participating in talks and lectures–all in addition to his continuing high level of scholarly productivity. He will be very much missed by all of his friends and colleagues on the faculty.
Larry Ribstein, RIP « Truth on the Market said
[...] Comments Cynthia Williams on Larry Ribstein: In Memoriam (1946-2011)william on Larry Ribstein, RIPLarry Ribstein, RIP « Truth on the Market on Memorial [...]
Larry Ribstein’s Top Posts of 2011 « Truth on the Market said
[...] Larry Ribstein: In Memoriam (1946-2011) [...]
Construction Zone » Ribstein论法域竞争 said
[...] 从群组blog Truth on the Market 得知，美国伊大法学院的Larry E. Ribstein教授于12月24日过世。我和Ribstein教授并没有过深的交往，但他的为人为学却是给我留下了深刻的印象。和他难得的几次吃饭、聊天也是我在美国访学期间美好记忆的组成部分。记得在我回国前一周，我还与他一起吃过一顿便餐，席间我提到我下周就要回国，他郑重其事地说若早知道我要离开，就应该到高级餐馆请我好好吃上一顿。短短一句话令我很是感动，我不过是第三世界国家来的平庸学生，而Ribstein是世界顶级的商法学者，但他丝毫没有架子。在他的过人的睿智和饱学之外，和他聊天总是能够令我感受那种和我们地位极不相称的平等、真诚和慷慨。 [...]
Larry Ribstein, RIP « Truth on the Market said
[...] The outpouring in the blogosphere from Larry’s friends, admirers, colleagues, and the like is, not surprisingly, moving. As we find them and receive them from friends who ask us to post them here, we will continue to collect remembrances here. [...]
Richard Rubenstein said
Larry and Ann and I were friends and neighbors in Fairfax, Va. when both Ribsteins were working at the George Mason Law School and I was teaching (as I still am) at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Larry and I were at opposite poles ideologically and argued non-stop about the efficacy of the market, the role of the state, you name it. I loved these discussions almost as much as our talks about books, movies, and music. Larry was above all a humanist, even if he might reject some of that word’s more sentimental connotations. More than this, he and Ann were selfless friends, rendering inestimable aid when my wife, Brenda, was stricken with incurable cancer twenty years ago. I think of him with lasting affection.