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William
Lawless, ex-dean of ND law school, dies

South
Bend Tribune - South Bend, Ind.

Date:

Apr 25, 2007

Start
Page:

1

Section:

Local

Text
Word Count:

606

Document Text

William B. Lawless, dean of the University of Notre Dame
Law School from 1968 to 1971, died Monday in San Francisco
after an illness.

He was 84.

During his tenure at Notre Dame Law School, he doubled the
size of the school to 424 students and was credited with
strengthening the faculty and curriculum.

Lawless was born on June 3, 1922 in Buffalo, N.Y., and
graduated from Canisius High School. He earned his law degree
from Notre Dame Law School in 1944. While a student, he was
editor-in-chief of the Notre Dame Lawyer.

After graduating from law school, he served with the U.S.
Navy in the South Pacific. He earned a bachelor of arts degree
from the University of Buffalo in 1949, then earned an L.L.M.
degree in constitutional law in 1950 from Harvard
University.

Lawless then returned to Buffalo and served in private
practice. He became Buffalo's youngest corporate counsel in
1954 and later the city's youngest Common Council president.
He was elected to the New York Supreme Court bench, serving
from 1960 to 1968.

While on the Supreme Court, Lawless authored an opinion in
1967 in the case of Sa Marion v. McGinnis recognizing that
Black Muslimism was a religion that must be recognized in the
state prison system and that the religious dietary needs of
black Muslims should be accommodated to the extent
practicable.

Lawless left the Supreme Court bench to head Notre Dame Law
School. While dean, he inaugurated a popular abroad program in
which second-year law students studied in London for a
year.

He and his family lived in Niles during his tenure at Notre
Dame.

Lawless left Notre Dame in early 1971 to become a partner
and head of litigation at Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander
in New York. He helped prepare Martha Mitchell, wife of John
Mitchell, President Nixon's attorney general, for her
deposition during the Watergate scandal. He often kidded that
he was the only Democrat in the firm.

Lawless later moved to the firm of Hawkins, Delafield &
Wood. He also taught as an adjunct professor at the University
of Buffalo Law School and Fordham Law School. In the early
1960s, he served as a faculty member at the founding session
of the National Judicial College at the University of Colorado
Law School.

Lawless left Wall Street in the 1980s and briefly opened
his own practice, then moved to California as president of
Western State College of Law in Fullerton, Calif. In 1987,
Lawless returned to the National Judicial College, which had
relocated to Reno, Nev., serving as dean of faculty and
director of operations until 1990.

He later moved to Newport Beach, Calif., then northern
California. He was a counsel to the firm of Capretz &
Associates and helped start a mediation firm known as
"Judge-Net" when he was 77.

Lawless married Jeanne M. Offermann, of Buffalo, N.Y., in
1944. The couple had 12 children and divorced in 1975. In
1983, he married Agnes Keane of Brooklyn, N.Y.

A sister, Mary Lawless, preceded him in death. He is
survived by his second wife, Agnes, of San Rafael and Newport
Beach, Calif., his former wife, Jeanne, of Pine City, N.Y., 12
children, 25 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A rosary and vigil will be at 3 p.m. Friday at St.
Raphael's Church in San Rafael, Calif. A memorial Mass will
take place at 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Raphael's.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be
sent to support scholarships for Notre Dame law students. The
address is: Notre Dame Law School Annual Fund, 1100 Grace
Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Credit: Tribune Staff Report

Reproduced with permission of the
copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is
prohibited without permission.

Abstract (Document Summary)

Lawless was born on June 3, 1922 in Buffalo, N.Y., and
graduated from Canisius High School. He earned his law degree
from Notre Dame Law School in 1944. While a student, he was
editor-in-chief of the Notre Dame Lawyer.

Lawless left Notre Dame in early 1971 to become a partner
and head of litigation at Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander
in New York. He helped prepare Martha Mitchell, wife of John
Mitchell, President Nixon's attorney general, for her
deposition during the Watergate scandal. He often kidded that
he was the only Democrat in the firm.

Lawless left Wall Street in the 1980s and briefly opened
his own practice, then moved to California as president of
Western State College of Law in Fullerton, Calif. In 1987,
Lawless returned to the National Judicial College, which had
relocated to Reno, Nev., serving as dean of faculty and
director of operations until 1990.

Reproduced with permission of the
copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is
prohibited without permission.

Other Formats: Abstract
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