Larry Brown: 39 Years of Service

Professor of Law

Path to Lewis & Clark

After 11 years in the San Francisco Bay area—which included law school, clerking for the Ninth Circuit, and working for a big law firm—I worked for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. After that, I turned down offers to be an East Coast lawyer/lobbyist and to teach at some other law schools. But I was happy to come to the Pacific Northwest and Lewis & Clark.

Favorite Courses to Teach

Income Tax I. To some extent, I regret never teaching a first-year course.

If You Hadn’t Become a Professor

I went through stages when I thought I would be an electrical engineer, a physician or medical researcher, or an expatriate Swiss banker before assuming I would be a lawyer in a medium-size firm.

Biggest Change at Lewis & Clark During Your Tenure

In the early years, the small faculty and staff were very much involved in running the law school and molding its future; faculty meetings were small enough to make them seem like committee meetings rather than presentations. Students here and elsewhere were more interested in a broad legal education with less emphasis on specialization and practice-ready skills. There was no internet on campus, let alone in classrooms, to distract students. Ah, the rantings of an old-timer!

Favorite Place on Campus

I’ve always enjoyed being in the smaller classrooms when the sun isn’t shining in the amphitheatre. The back path to Classrooms 7 and 8 is very special.

What’s Next

Except for more travel and maybe someday playing with grandchildren, I’ll probably be doing many of the same things, including following tax legislation and policy.

Fun Fact

I’m really interested in history and biography, along with politics. In addition to keeping up with German, I’ve made some progress with Mandarin, and recently a little Japanese. I’m also a computer nerd.