Law School Prof. Emeritus Dies at 83

Loeb University Professor Emeritus Paul A. Freund, died of sinus cancer Wednesday at his home in Cambridge. He was 83 years old.

Freud, who taught at Harvard Law School from 1939 to 1976, earned a reputation as one of the school's top constitutional law scholars.

Law School Dean Robert C. Clark called Freund an "outstanding teacher, to both students and colleagues, about the constitutional framework of our society."

Others praised Freund's mix of intense intellectual curiosity, concern for students and ability to keep his listeners' attention.

"People loved to hear him talk," said Professor, of law Frank I. Michelmen, one of Freund's former students.

"He was a terrific public speaker...[who] brought the world of constitutional law to life," Michelmen said.

Freund received an A.B. from American University in 1928, an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1931 and an S.J.D. in 1932.

While a student at the Law School, he served as president of the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review.

Freund worked for the Treasury Department and for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation from 1933 to 1935 and joined the Law School faculty in 1939.

During his tenure the professor authored several books on constitutional law, including On Understanding the Supreme Court (1949) and On Law and Justice (1968).

He also edited Experimentation with Human Subjects (1970) and co-edited Cases on Constitution Law (1977).

Freund's post-retirement work culminated in his editorship of the ongoing series History of the Supreme Court.

Freund received awards and honorary degrees from a number of institutions, including Columbia University and Yale University.

He also received the Research Award of the American Bar Association in 1973, the Baldwin Award of the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts in 1982 and the Henry J. Friendly Award of the American Law Institute in 1989.

Freund was also a long-standing fellow and former president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and former vice president of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Freund will be buried at his birthplace of St. Louis, Missouri. A memorial service will be scheduled for a later date, according to the Law School news office.