THE HONORABLE RICHARD A. POSNER RECEIVES
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S 2003 JOHN SHERMAN AWARD

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Senior Lecturer in Law with the University of Chicago Law School will receive the Department of Justice John Sherman Award for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy. The award will be presented during a celebration of the Antitrust Division’s 70th and 100th Anniversaries on November 6, 2003, in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice.

"Judge Posner’s work has been critical to promoting a sounder understanding of antitrust law. The Antitrust Division and antitrust practitioners worldwide are tremendously grateful for the time and energy he has devoted to antitrust issues, including his valuable writings, thoughtful analyses, and dedication to providing an intellectually rigorous foundation for antitrust enforcement,” said R. Hewitt Pate, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division.

Created in 1994, the John Sherman Award is presented by the Department's Antitrust Division to a person or persons for their outstanding achievement in antitrust law, contributing to the protection of American consumers and to the preservation of economic liberty.

In 1959, Judge Posner graduated from Yale College, summa cum laude. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School in 1962, magna cum laude, and was President of the Harvard Law Review. For several years, Judge Posner worked in Washington: First as law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.; then in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations as an assistant to Commissioner Philip Elman of the Federal Trade Commission, an assistant to Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall, and as General Counsel of President Johnson’s Task Force on Communications Policy.

Judge Posner began teaching law in 1968 at Stanford as an Associate Professor and became Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School in 1969, where he taught full-time until his appointment to the Seventh Circuit in 1981. Throughout his career, Judge Posner has written a number of books including Antitrust Law (2d ed. 2001) as well as many antitrust articles in economic and legal journals.

Judge Posner served as Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1993 to 2000. He continues to teach part time at the University of Chicago Law School, where he is a Senior Lecturer.

The award is named for the author of the Sherman Act of 1890, the nation's first and foremost antitrust law. John Sherman, a former Congressman and Senator, also served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1877 to 1881, and as Secretary of State from 1897 to 1898.

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