William P. Richardson (law school dean)

William Payson Richardson (November 6, 1864 – August 29, 1945) was the co-founder and first Dean of Brooklyn Law School, a position he held for the years 1901–1945.[3][2][4][5][6] He was also a legal scholar, and authored many books.

Dean William Payson Richardson
Born	November 6, 1864 Farmer Center, Ohio
Died	August 29, 1945 (aged 80) Morristown, New Jersey
Resting place	Central Cemetery, New London, Frederick County Maryland[1]
Alma mater	University of Wooster Northern Indiana Normal School University of Maryland Law School (LL.B. 1895)
Occupation	Law school dean and legal scholar
Employer	Brooklyn Law School
Notable work	The Law of Evidence
Title	Dean
Term	1901-45
Political party	Republican[2]
Spouse(s)	Bessie Hoy
Children	1

Biography

Richardson was born in Farmer Center, Ohio, to Richard (1837–1916) and Margaret (Powell) Richardson (1840–1904), and was the grandson of Thomas (1798–1865) and Elizabeth (Orr) Richardson (1817–1885) of Defiance County, Ohio.[7][8][2][9][10][11] He studied at the University of Wooster in Ohio and the Northern Indiana Normal School in Valparaiso, Indiana, and received his law degree from the University of Maryland Law School (LL.B. 1895).[12] He was admitted to the bar in 1895 in Maryland, and in 1901 in New York.[13]

He married Bessie Hoy in 1904, with whom he had a son.[2][13] They resided in Morristown, New Jersey.[13]

Law school dean

Richardson co-founded Brooklyn Law School and was its Dean from its inception in 1901 until 1945.[9][14][15][16] He led a delegation of Brooklyn Law School instructors at a meeting with other New York law school instructors in February 1910, to consider common issues of methods of study and issues relating to the bar exam.[17] In 1928 the law school moved into a new building that was named Richardson Hall, in his honor.[8] Richardson was Dean until he died in 1945 in Morristown, New Jersey.[4][18] The William Payson Richardson Memorial Prize is awarded to an outstanding student chosen by the faculty of Brooklyn Law School.[19]

Richardson served on the Committee on Legal Education of the New York City Bar Association.[20]

Legal works

He was a legal scholar who authored many books, including Commercial Law (1898), Richardson's Commercial Law (1904), Outlines of Contracts (1908), Outlines of Bills and Notes (1914), Principles of the Law of Contract (1920), Selected Cases in Evidence (1927), The Law of Evidence (1928), The Law of Suretyship and Guaranty (1929), The Law of Bailments, Carriers, and Innkeepers (1937).[21][22][23][24][25][26][16][13] The Fifth Edition of his Law of Evidence was reviewed in 1937 by Fordham Law School Professor Maurice Wormser in the Fordham Law Review.[27] Wormser wrote:

"The concise but extremely practical work on Evidence by Dean ... Richardson ... has been regarded highly since its first appearance, both by members of the judiciary and by practicing lawyers. The present reviewer reviewed the first four editions in the columns of the New York Law Journal and emphasized the immense practical value of the treatise, particularly for attorneys practicing in New York... In using "Richardson on Evidence" students, professors and lawyers alike will be aided by the point of view of an able and thorough master of the law of Evidence, whose scholarship and erudition have been polished by the experience that is the good fortune of the active teacher."[27]

References

1. "William Payson Richardson"
2. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Current volume. J.T. White. 1938 – via Google Books.
3. Levy, Felice (1979). Obituaries on File. Facts on File – via Internet Archive. William Payson Richardson obituary 1945.
4. "The Lost Dean of Brooklyn Law School". The BLS Advocate. 1 April 2013.
5. Patterson, Homer L. (1913). Patterson's American Educational Directory. American Educational Company – via Google Books.
6. American College and Private School Directory. Educational Aid Society. 1915 – via Google Books.
7. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. J.T. White. 1949 – via Google Books.
8. Derby, George; White, James Terry (1949). The National Cyclopædia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time. J. T. White – via Google Books.
9. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. J.T. White. 1949 – via Google Books.
10. "Richard R. Richardson"
11. "Margaret A. Richardson"
12. "School Founder Dies; p. 17". Lima News Newspaper Archives. August 30, 1945.
13. Schwarz, Julius Caesar (1937). Who's Who in Law – via Google Books.
14. American Law School Review. West Publishing Company. 1922 – via Google Books.
15. "James Valedictorian Brooklyn Law". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York). Jun 12, 1914. p. 10.
16. "Brooklyn Law Dean Search," January 2011.
17. American Law School Review. West Publishing Company. 1911 – via Google Books.
18. "August 30, 1945 · Page 11". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York.
19. "May 2017 Commencement Prizes, Awards"
20. New York State Bar Association (1921). Proceedings and Committee Reports. Boyd Print. Company – via Google Books.
21. Richardson, William Payson (1920). Principles of the Law of Contract. Richardson – via Internet Archive. Payson Richardson.
22. Richardson, William Payson (1904). Richardson's Commercial Law: A Text-book for Schools, Colleges and Private Reference. Sadler-Rowe – via Internet Archive. Payson Richardson.
23. Richardson, William Payson (1914). Outlines of Bills and Notes. Brooklyn Law Publishing Company – via Google Books.
24. Richardson, William Payson (1928). The law of evidence – via Google Books.
25. Richardson, William Payson (1908). Outlines of Contracts. Brooklyn Law School – via Google Books.
26. Richardson, William Payson (1898). Commercial Law: Specially Arranged and Adapted as a Textbook for Business Colleges, Commercial and High Schools; Also as a Reference Book for the Counting-room and Business Man. Sadler-Rowe Company – via Google Books.
27. I. Maurice Wormser (1937). "Book Reviews; The Law of Evidence", 6 Fordham Law Review 3.