A Tribute to Alfred S. Konefsky

I first got to know Fred Konefsky in 1976, just before he took up his appointment here on the law faculty. At the time, he was a Charles Warren Fellow at Harvard Law School and teaching a course in American legal history in which I had enrolled. It is no overstatement to say that the class transformed my life, exposing me to a kind of history with which I fell in love, in no small part because of Fred’s masterful teaching. He would have us read case after obscure case in early 19th century American contract, tort and property law, and then patiently and carefully lead us through a process of taking an opinion apart to reveal its rich wider implications.

Many years later, after I came to Buffalo, I had the good fortune to be able to co-teach several legal and constitutional history seminars with Fred. These were among the most pleasurable and satisfying teaching experiences I have had, and experiences, I believe, that the students also held dear. Generations of students remember Fred warmly as a rigorous, inspiring teacher.

What his colleagues also know about Fred is that he has been unstinting in his willingness to make his time available to them to read and comment on their work, and to offer the kind of comprehensive bibliographical advice about often obscure sources that only he has at his fingertips. He has been a supportive friend to many colleagues at Buffalo and in the wider profession. Even now as he is on the verge of retiring, his colleagues and faculty members at other schools seek him out to read and provide feedback on their work and to solicit his advice on sources and publication strategies and for reassurance that they are on the right track. He has been a good academic citizen and generous to a fault with his time.

Although Fred has practiced law only occasionally, he has an amazingly sharp legal intelligence. His capacity to see the weaknesses and contradictions in arguments is breathtaking. This talent together with his gift for friendship made him a formidable actor in faculty politics, of which he was a consummate practitioner. His departure leaves a political vacuum on the faculty at a time when the very principle of faculty self-governance seems to be at risk. Just last year Fred published a long article on the future of legal education, arguing for the preservation of law as a learned profession, in which the public role of lawyers should not be forgotten.

When he arrived at Buffalo in 1977, the school was a hot bed of Law and Society and Critical Legal Studies scholarship. Though Fred leaned in the direction of Law and Society, and could be a sharp critic of Critical Legal Studies, his scholarship over the years contained elements from both schools. He edited several volumes of the Webster Legal Papers while here, and published numerous influential articles on a wide variety of subjects. His colleagues will miss his scholarly companionship and his unfailing willingness to offer them his support and counsel.