NEWARK, NJ – James C.N. Paul, William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor of Law Emeritus and Dean of Rutgers School of Law–Newark from 1970 to 1973, died on September 14 at his home on the eastern shore of Maryland.
Offering her thoughts, Diana Sclar, Associate Professor of Law and Alan Axelrod Scholar, said: “I first met Jim Paul in 1972 when he was dean and I was being considered for a teaching position at the law school. He graciously invited me and my daughters to stay with him and his family so that I could spend a day becoming acquainted with the suburbs of Newark. I last spoke to Jim about two months ago when I edited an article he co-wrote for the Rutgers Law Review. For the nearly 40 years that I knew him I think the best way to describe him is as a true gentleman. He was kind, generous and, as exemplified by his teaching and scholarship, deeply devoted to the cause of human rights.”
Professor Paul received his A.B. from Princeton and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was editor in chief of the Law Review. He was a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the United States, Frederick M. Vinson, and a professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Pennsylvania. After serving as professor, dean, and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, he joined the Rutgers faculty in 1970 as dean. Paul completed his service as dean in 1973 but continued on the teaching faculty until his retirement in the early 1990s.
In 2009 Addis Ababa University decided to name its law library after Professor Paul for his many contributions to the Ethiopian legal system and to the university and its law school.
Professor Paul was the author of several books on international law, federal censorship policies, and local government. He taught Torts, Comparative Law, and Legal History.
Offering her thoughts, Diana Sclar, Associate Professor of Law and Alan Axelrod Scholar, said: “I first met Jim Paul in 1972 when he was dean and I was being considered for a teaching position at the law school. He graciously invited me and my daughters to stay with him and his family so that I could spend a day becoming acquainted with the suburbs of Newark. I last spoke to Jim about two months ago when I edited an article he co-wrote for the Rutgers Law Review. For the nearly 40 years that I knew him I think the best way to describe him is as a true gentleman. He was kind, generous and, as exemplified by his teaching and scholarship, deeply devoted to the cause of human rights.”
Professor Paul received his A.B. from Princeton and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was editor in chief of the Law Review. He was a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the United States, Frederick M. Vinson, and a professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Pennsylvania. After serving as professor, dean, and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, he joined the Rutgers faculty in 1970 as dean. Paul completed his service as dean in 1973 but continued on the teaching faculty until his retirement in the early 1990s.
In 2009 Addis Ababa University decided to name its law library after Professor Paul for his many contributions to the Ethiopian legal system and to the university and its law school.
Professor Paul was the author of several books on international law, federal censorship policies, and local government. He taught Torts, Comparative Law, and Legal History.
Media Contact: Janet Donohue
973-353-5553
E-mail: jdonohue@andromeda.rutgers.edu