For veteran’s day, I wanted to highlight and honor one of my favorite law professors, George J. Alexander, who passed away recently, on July 29, 2013. He was a member of the US Navy between college and law school.
On July 31, 2013, I received news that one of my favorite law school professors had passed away, after a long illness. In fact, the last time I saw Professor George J. Alexander, he was recovering from an illness that almost killed him. He and Katharine, his wife of 55 years, were an amazing team. They hosted events at their house for law students and lawyers. I remember them both being very kind and very gracious. Very old school, as illustrated with this picture! Granted, he’s been teaching longer than I’ve been alive, so it’s not a surprise to see this picture – all males, smoking a pipe in his office.
I remember my first introduction to Prof. Alexander with our Constitutional law class. I wanted to become a lawyer so that I could uphold the constitution (so, why am I doing eDiscovery?). I couldn’t wait to take Con Law. It was good, but it wasn’t as good as the Antitrust class I had with him later. He definitely nurtured my love of antitrust and inspired me to write a paper on The Nine No-nos of Antitrust Enforcement.
My favorite memories of Prof. Alexander were from the antitrust class and discussing events from the Roosevelt administration and the 1937 Supreme Court and his court packing plan. I remember a discussion about Schechter Poultry and the Commerce Clause as if it were yesterday. My favorite part of the antitrust class was the final; it was one of the first classes I remember walking out of after taking the final and thinking, “I just aced that.” BTW – that only happened twice my entire time in law school (the other one was Criminal law the prior semester). I went to him right after I finished the exam and told him so, which resulted in me getting the equivalent of the gentleman’s eye roll. Turns out I was right, but that same feeling of euphoria didn’t happen again (I’m hoping it was because I chose to write a paper instead of take a final where possible after my first year).
My other favorite class was the International Antitrust class he taught with Prof. Jimenez. That class had lively discussions and focused on the lack of antitrust enforcement in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Unfortunately, nothing has really changed in the ensuing 20 years. Having him for antitrust definitley fostered my love of antitrust and I was fortunate to get to put it to good use with my jobs at Sega and Intuit, and with my work in eDiscovery for second requests and other regulatory enforcement actions.
What I appreciated the most about Prof. Alexander was his kindness and encouragement. He was Dean at Santa Clara from 1970 – 1985. When I was in law school at Santa Clara from 1989-1992, he was a seasoned professor. He was always encouraging and never scathing in his engagement like other professors. He wanted to encourage thought and discussion, rather than intimidation. He was always concerned about justice and equality. He spent a lot of his time and effort supporting these causes to the point where he and his wife founded the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, which can continue his life’s work. Rest in peace, Professor George J. Alexander. I am glad I got to be a part of your life. Thank you.
