Law professor dies at 66

By: Hope Morley

Posted: 3/20/08

College of Law Board of Advisors Professor Richard I. Goldsmith died March 13 after a battle with cancer. He was 66 years old.

"Richard is one of the smartest people I have ever met, one of the funniest and one of the kindest," said Daan Braveman, former dean of the Syracuse University College of Law and current president of Nazareth College in Rochester.

Goldsmith began teaching at SU in 1970 after leaving private practice in New York City.

Goldsmith received his bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester and attended New York University School of Law.

While at SU, he served as chair of the College of Law Appointment Committee, and directed the Environmental Law Clinic and the Law in London summer program. As chair, Goldsmith was largely responsible for bringing new faculty into the College of Law.

A former member of the committee, professor Peter Bell, said he remembers the highlights of their meetings being Goldsmith's humorous introductions and comments.

"His humor was very dry and self-effacing," Bell said. "It was never at the expensive of others."

Goldsmith was a progressive teacher in the College of Law, Bell said. He helped to update the core curriculum for first-year law students to include more electives and public law courses. In the 1970s, he was known to teach in jeans while his colleagues were still lecturing in full suits.

"He was fiercely independent, and that carried into his teaching," Bell said. "He was first and foremost a teacher."

In his courses, Goldsmith specialized in environmental law, government regulation and federal civil procedures.

"Richard loved the law," Braveman said. "He would focus on details but also the big picture. He taught detailed courses but put them in context."

Goldsmith was one of the founders of the Public Interest Law Firm in the 1980s. Though this program ended a few years later, it gave law students a chance to work on real lawsuits with the supervision of four faculty members.

"We were passionate about social justice," said Richard Ellison, a law professor and a co-founder of the Public Interest Law Firm. "We wanted to expose students to local issues and how they could use the law for social change."

Outside of his teaching, Goldsmith loved reading novels, music, dancing and opera, Ellison said. He enjoyed cooking and was a wine connoisseur. He would often make his own wine from scratch with friends.

An avid runner, he once qualified for the Boston Marathon, Braveman said. In Syracuse, he would run daily with some of his colleagues in the College of Law. They continued this tradition for more than 20 years.

"We would run and talk about everything," Braveman said. "We were a group of men talking on both the personal and professional level."

Goldsmith is remembered by his colleagues for his intelligence and commitment to education.

"He was deeply thoughtful and as insightful as anyone who ever worked here," Bell said. "He was committed to prepare students to function well as professionals and as individuals."

Funeral services were private. A memorial service will be held on Friday at 4 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel, with a reception following in the College of Law Heritage Alumni Lounge.

"The law school will miss him very much," Braveman said.

Goldsmith is survived by his wife, Madeline; his daughter, Pamela; his two sons, Jason and Adam; and two grandsons.

hemorley@syr.edu