A. Leo Levin

American legal academic (1919-2015)

A. Leo Levin

Born| (1919-01-09)January 9, 1919

New York City, U.S.

Died| November 24, 2015(2015-11-24) (aged 96)
Education| Yeshiva University (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)
Occupation| Law professor
Title| Leon Meltzer Professor of Law
Spouse| Doris (nee Feder)
Children| 2
Parent(s)| Issaachar and Minerva Hilda (Shapiro) Levin

A. Leo Levin (January 9, 1919 – November 24, 2015) was an American legal scholar who was the Leon Meltzer Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[1]

## Early life and education

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Levin was born in New York City to Issaachar and Minerva Hilda (Shapiro) Levin, and grew up in Trenton, New Jersey,[1] where he attended Trenton Central High School.[2]His father was an Orthodox rabbi and Mizrachi leader.[3] He was Jewish.[4] He and his wife Doris (née Feder) had two sons, Allan and Jay.[5][6]

Levin earned a B.A. from Yeshiva College in 1939, where he was the editor-in-chief of The Commentator and president of the Yeshiva College Student Council.[7][8] He subsequently received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1942, where he was an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.[9][10]

## Career

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During World War II he was a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1946 in Europe.[10] He taught at the University of Iowa College of Law as an assistant professor from 1947 to 1949.[11] Decades later, in the 1990s, he returned there to teach.[11]

He was the Leon Meltzer Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; he first joined the faculty in 1949, and became a full professor in 1953.[12][13]

Levin was the Director of the Federal Judicial Center from 1977 to 1987.[9] He served as president of the Jewish Publication Society, the Jewish Exponent, Lower Merion Synagogue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, and the Order of the Coif.[5][14][1] He was also vice provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and a vice president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.[4] He was a founding director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a member of the Standing Committee on Practice and Procedure, Judicial Conference of the United States (1977–78), a member of the National Institute of Corrections, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary trustee of Bar-Ilan University, a member of the board of directors of the American Judicature Society, and served on the planning committee of the Claims Commission, which made recommendations regarding allocation of reparation monies to be paid to Holocaust survivors.[3]

Among Levin's writings are A. Leo Levin, Philip Shuchman, & Charles M. Yablon, Civil Procedure: Cases and Materials, 2d ed. (Foundation Press 2000), Russell R. Wheeler & A. Leo Levin, Judicial Discipline and Removal in the United States (Federal Judicial Center 1979), A. Leo Levin, Russell R. Wheeling & R. Pound, The Pound Conference: Perspectives on Justice in the Future (West 1979), A. Leo Levin, Problems and Materials on Trial Advocacy (Foundation Press 1968), and A. Leo Levin & M. Kramer, New Provisions in the Ketubah: A Legal Opinion (Yeshiva University 1955).[15]

Levin died at 96 years of age.[16] The annual A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course was established in 2002 at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in his honor.[17][5]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Leo Levin, 96". Jewish Exponent. December 10, 2015.
2. ^ "Feder Will Wed A. Leo Levin", Trenton Evening Times, September 18, 1947. Accessed March 29, 2025, via Newspapers.com. " Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Feder of New York City announce the engagement of their daughter Doris to A. Leo Levin, the son of Rabbi and Mrs. Issacher Levin of 326 Market Street, this city.... Levin was graduated from Trenton Central High School, Yeshiva University, and from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania."
3. ^ a b "Levin, A. Leo - Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
4. ^ a b "Dr. A. Leo Levin, Orthodox Jew, Named to High Post at Pennsylvania U." Jewish Telegraphic Agency. September 21, 1965.
5. ^ a b c "A. Leo Levin, Law School". www.upenn.edu.
6. ^ "A Community Remembers," Jewish Exponent.
7. ^ "Levin, Miller Chosen to Head Commentator". The Commentator. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
8. ^ "Levin Victor in Landslide". The Commentator. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
9. ^ a b "Penn Law Faculty: A. Leo Levin L'42". www.law.upenn.edu.
10. ^ a b The Daily Pennsylvanian. A. Leo Levin New Vice Provost - Pdf
11. ^ a b A. Leo Levin: A Fond Tribute to the Master of the Classroom 148 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1999-2000
12. ^ "STATEMENT OF A. LEO LEVIN ON THE NOMINATION OF HONORABLE ANTHONY KENNEDY TO BE ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES," SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, HONORABLE JOSEPH BIDEN Chairman, December 16, 1987.
13. ^ Obituaries – The Pennsylvania Gazette
14. ^ "A. Leo Levin"
15. ^ "A. Leo Levin - Law Library". library.law.uiowa.edu.
16. ^ "Levin". Jewish Exponent.
17. ^ "Law School faculty members honored for teaching excellence". www.caseinpoint.org.

## External links

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* Appearances on C-SPAN

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