Richard A. Posner, a former United States federal appellate judge and one of the most influential legal scholars of the 20th century, has died at the age of 87.
Posner died on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, with the University of Chicago Law School confirming his death in a statement released on Wednesday.
He was widely recognised for his contribution to American law, particularly through his work on the relationship between economics and legal systems.
During his distinguished career, Posner served for nearly 36 years on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where he authored approximately 3,300 judicial opinions covering a wide range of legal issues. University of Chicago Law School +1
Born in New York City in 1939, Posner studied at Yale University before earning his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962.
He began his legal career as a clerk to US Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. before serving as an assistant to Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Supreme Court justice.
Posner joined the University of Chicago Law School faculty in 1969, where he established himself as a leading voice in legal scholarship.
In 1973, he published Economic Analysis of Law, a book that became one of the foundational works in the field of law and economics. The publication examined how economic principles could be applied to legal rules, institutions and decision-making.
His growing influence in academia saw him appointed to the Lee and Brena Freeman Professorship of Law at the University of Chicago in 1978.
In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He later served as the court's chief judge between 1993 and 2000 before retiring from the bench in 2017. University of Chicago Law School +1
Throughout his judicial career, Posner became known for his practical approach to legal questions and his dislike of complicated legal language.
He believed that court decisions should be written in a manner that ordinary people could understand, while encouraging judges to focus on the practical consequences of their rulings.
His judgments also attracted attention for challenging established legal positions. Among the notable decisions he was involved in was a 2014 ruling that struck down same-sex marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin.
He also wrote extensively on subjects including constitutional law, economics, literature, antitrust law and government, producing dozens of books and hundreds of academic articles.
University of Chicago Law School Dean Adam Chilton paid tribute to Posner, describing him as an exceptionally productive and influential scholar whose ideas had a lasting impact on the legal profession.
Posner retired from the judiciary in 2017 but continued teaching and publishing, with a particular interest in social justice reform.
He is survived by his wife, Charlene, two sons and four grandchildren. Details of his funeral and memorial services are yet to be announced.
His death marks the loss of a major figure in American legal scholarship, whose writings and judicial decisions influenced generations of lawyers, academics and judges.
