Law Scholar Areeda, 'Antitrust Guru,' Dies

Langdell Professor of Law Phillip E. Areeda '51, one of the country's foremost experts on antitrust law, died on December 24 at Harvard's Stillman Infirmary of leukemia. He was 65.

Areeda, a resident of Cambridge, dedicated his legal career to the field of antitrust and acquired such expertise in the subject that he was often referred to as an "antitrust guru."

"Phillip Areeda represented the best that Harvard Law School has to offer," said the school's dean, Robert C. Clark. "His teaching enlightened thousands of students--myself included--and his writings made for better public policy and thus improved the world for all of us. We all have been honored to have lived in the presence of his greatness."

Areeda devoted nearly two decades to writing his 10-volume treatise Antitrust Law. The work, a standard in the field, is relied on extensively by lawyers and judges, so much so that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer once remarked that most lawyers would prefer to have on their side "two paragraphs of Areeda on antitrust than four Courts of Appeals and three Supreme Court Justices."

Areeda was also the author of what remains the field's leading textbook, Antitrust Analysis.

Areeda received his A.B. in economics from the College in 1951 and his L.L.B. from Harvard Law School in 1954, both degrees summa cum laude.

After graduation, Areeda spent two years in the Air Force and then moved on to the White House, where he served as Assistant Special Counsel to President Eisenhower. When Eisenhower left the White House, Areeda joined the Law School faculty, becoming assistant professor of law in 1961, professor of law in 1963, and Langdell professor of law in 1981.

Areeda returned briefly to Washington in 1969 to serve as executive director of the President's Cabinet Task Force on Oil Import Control and again from 1974 to 1975 as counsel to President Ford. As Areeda remarked in an interview, "those were excursions--my life has been teaching and writing."

Areeda was revered by generations of Harvard law students who knew him as a master of the Socratic method of teaching As Areeda put it. "Part of my mission is to do all I can to induce students to verbalize their thoughts, to put them on the table before me and 150 of their peers."

The Law School Class of 1994 recognized Areeda's excellence in teaching by bestowing on him the Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor that is given to one professor each year by vote of the graduating class.

In the spring of 1995, Areeda donated more than $5 million to the Campaign for Harvard Law School. "I am grateful to Harvard, which has essentially been my home since I first arrived as a student with a scholarship in 1947," Areeda explained. The gift was the second-largest to the Law School from an individual in the school's history.

This year the U.S. Department of Justice gave Areeda the John Sherman Award in recognition of his contribution to the field of antitrust law. Attorney General Janet Reno, speaking at the award ceremony, called Areeda "a guiding light and an inspiration to generations of lawyers, economists, judges and Supreme Court justices. His writings and teachings have furthered the cause of economic freedom and opportunity as a central principle in American society."

Along with his passion for antitrust doctrine, Areeda was well known for his love of fine food, wine and opera.

He leaves a sister-in-law, Anna Areeda of Birmingham, Michigan; two nieces, Michelle Areeda of Beverly Hills, Michigan and Marianne Taylor of Williamsburg, Virginia; and a nephew, Joseph Areeda of Los Angeles.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date

Areeda devoted nearly two decades to writing his 10-volume treatise Antitrust Law. The work, a standard in the field, is relied on extensively by lawyers and judges, so much so that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer once remarked that most lawyers would prefer to have on their side "two paragraphs of Areeda on antitrust than four Courts of Appeals and three Supreme Court Justices."

Areeda was also the author of what remains the field's leading textbook, Antitrust Analysis.

Areeda received his A.B. in economics from the College in 1951 and his L.L.B. from Harvard Law School in 1954, both degrees summa cum laude.

After graduation, Areeda spent two years in the Air Force and then moved on to the White House, where he served as Assistant Special Counsel to President Eisenhower. When Eisenhower left the White House, Areeda joined the Law School faculty, becoming assistant professor of law in 1961, professor of law in 1963, and Langdell professor of law in 1981.

Areeda returned briefly to Washington in 1969 to serve as executive director of the President's Cabinet Task Force on Oil Import Control and again from 1974 to 1975 as counsel to President Ford. As Areeda remarked in an interview, "those were excursions--my life has been teaching and writing."

Areeda was revered by generations of Harvard law students who knew him as a master of the Socratic method of teaching As Areeda put it. "Part of my mission is to do all I can to induce students to verbalize their thoughts, to put them on the table before me and 150 of their peers."

The Law School Class of 1994 recognized Areeda's excellence in teaching by bestowing on him the Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor that is given to one professor each year by vote of the graduating class.

In the spring of 1995, Areeda donated more than $5 million to the Campaign for Harvard Law School. "I am grateful to Harvard, which has essentially been my home since I first arrived as a student with a scholarship in 1947," Areeda explained. The gift was the second-largest to the Law School from an individual in the school's history.

This year the U.S. Department of Justice gave Areeda the John Sherman Award in recognition of his contribution to the field of antitrust law. Attorney General Janet Reno, speaking at the award ceremony, called Areeda "a guiding light and an inspiration to generations of lawyers, economists, judges and Supreme Court justices. His writings and teachings have furthered the cause of economic freedom and opportunity as a central principle in American society."

Along with his passion for antitrust doctrine, Areeda was well known for his love of fine food, wine and opera.

He leaves a sister-in-law, Anna Areeda of Birmingham, Michigan; two nieces, Michelle Areeda of Beverly Hills, Michigan and Marianne Taylor of Williamsburg, Virginia; and a nephew, Joseph Areeda of Los Angeles.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date