Richard Posner

By Sara L. Austin, EdD

Richard Posner is a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School who served as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned his A.B. degree in English literature from Yale University (summa cum laude), and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude and valedictorian).

Posner’s background in economics informs his legal philosophy. His legal career has included a clerkship for Justice William J. Brennan, of the United States Supreme Court, a position under Thurgood Marshall, who was at the time, Solicitor General of the United States Department of Justice. By 1981, he was nominated for a seat on the bench for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where he remained until 2017.

He has written extensively on law, economics, literature, legal history, and current events. He is typically viewed as a conservative judge, but his pragmatic viewpoints have led him to a moderate position on complex issues, including abortion, animal rights, the war on drugs, policing, public education, incarceration, and many others.

He is notable for several precedent-setting cases involving the Establishment Clause, consent decrees, corporate liability, torts, and contract law.

Academic Website

Featured in Top Influential Legal Scholars Today