Yale Law School Mourns the Loss of Edward J. Phelps Professor of Law and Economics George L. Priest
George L. Priest, the Edward J. Phelps Professor of Law and Economics at Yale Law School, died on Dec. 17, 2024, at the age of 77.
“Professor Priest was a distinguished scholar, revered teacher, and fierce mentor,” said Dean Heather K. Gerken. “A scholarly pioneer, George left a legion of ideas in his wake. He was also a beloved member of our community, someone who managed to be an intellectual giant with great warmth, humor, and modesty. He made us think, and he made us laugh. And we all mourn his loss.”
Priest joined Yale Law School in 1981 and was named the John M. Olin Professor of Law and Economics in 1986. He was a director of the John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy, which supported the development of the field of law and economics at Yale; the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization; and Yale Law School’s Law, Economics, and Organization Workshop. With Steven Shavell of Harvard and A. Mitchell Polinsky of Stanford, he co-founded the American Law and Economics Association, an organization that thrives today. Priest served as the Association’s first president from 1991 to 1992.
His 1984 article (with UCLA economist Benjamin Klein) “The Selection of Disputes for Litigation,” revolutionized theories of the common law and engendered decades of inquiry regarding the probability of litigation outcomes. The article presented what became known as the “Priest-Klein hypothesis” and introduced the concept of selection bias into legal literature.
Among his many other articles are “A Theory of the Consumer Product Warranty” (1981), “Satisfying the Multiple Goals of Tort Law” (1988), and “Rethinking Antitrust Law in an Age of Network Industries” (2007). His book and memoir on the origins of law and economics, “The Rise of Law and Economics: An Intellectual History,” was published in 2020.
Priest was frequently invited to lecture around the world. He taught at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, for two semesters in 1983 and 1986, and at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy in 1984, 1986, and 1988. He gave the inaugural lecture of the Olin Distinguished Lecture Series at the UCLA School of Business in 1986, and the inaugural Monsanto Lecture in Tort Law and Jurisprudence at Valparaiso Law School in 1987. He served on the U.S. President’s Commission on Privatization in 1987-88. He was named the 20th Higgins Distinguished Visiting Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in 2003 and delivered the Distinguished Economist Lecture at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition in 2004. He served on the American Enterprise Institute’s Council of Academic Advisers from 1994 to 2015.
In 2014, Priest was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and an independent research center. He was named an honorary professor at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, in Lima, Peru, in 2003 and kept close ties with his many Peruvian students over the decades.
In addition to his scholarly work, Priest was known for his generous spirit and legacy of mentorship. He and Kathy, his wife of 57 years, welcomed two generations of Yale Law students to their home for end-of-term events and on countless occasions. He possessed coach-like energy, Dean Heather K. Gerken said at a recent festschrift celebrating Priest’s career as a titan in his field.
“Innumerable lawyers, academics, and leaders around the world can explain their success at least in part with one simple statement: ‘George believed in me,’” Gerken said.
“Law and Markets: A Conference on Themes in the Work of George Priest,” brought scholars from around the world to the Law School for two days of events and discussion in September 2024. Panels included “Law, Risk, and Uncertainty,” “Torts,” “Legal Institutions,” “Antirust,” and “Capitalism.” The papers will be published in a forthcoming symposium issue of the Yale Journal on Regulation.
“Yale Law School, and the legal profession, is forever marked by George’s once-in-a-generation talent,” Gerken said.
Priest received his B.A. from Yale in 1969 and his J.D. in 1973 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he worked as a research assistant for the Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase. Prior to coming to Yale, Priest held positions at the University of Chicago, SUNY-Buffalo, and UCLA. He taught courses spanning torts, contracts, antitrust, regulated industries, insurance and public policy, and a renowned seminar titled “Capitalism or Democracy?” with his colleague, former professor (at the University of Chicago), and dear friend Professor Owen M. Fiss.
Priest is survived by Kathy and his children, Simeon E. Baldwin Professor at Yale Law School Claire Priest ’00, Thomas (and Sarah) Priest, Nicholas (and Anne) Priest, and Juliana (and Michael) Ricks, as well as 14 grandchildren.
