Billings Learned Hand was one of the most influential judges in America. This book provides a complete and intimate account of the professional and personal life of Learned Hand. It conveys the substance and range of Hand's judicial and intellectual contributions. The book's author, a former law clerk for Hand, reviewed much of Hand's published work, opinions, and correspondence for the book. The book describes Hand's cases, and discusses the judge's professional and personal life as interconnected with the political and social circumstances of the times in which he lived. Born in 1872, Hand s ... More

Billings Learned Hand was one of the most influential judges in America. This book provides a complete and intimate account of the professional and personal life of Learned Hand. It conveys the substance and range of Hand's judicial and intellectual contributions. The book's author, a former law clerk for Hand, reviewed much of Hand's published work, opinions, and correspondence for the book. The book describes Hand's cases, and discusses the judge's professional and personal life as interconnected with the political and social circumstances of the times in which he lived. Born in 1872, Hand served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He clearly crafted and delivered thousands of decisions in a wide range of cases through extensive, conscientious investigation and analysis, while at the same time exercising wisdom and personal detachment. His opinions are still widely quoted today, and will remain as an everlasting tribute to his life and legacy.