JUNE 1958
Shartel and Simes Announce Retirement Plans
T\vo veteran members of the Law School faculty. Profs. orary juris doctor degree from the University of Heidelberg in
Burke Shartel 2nd Lewis M. Simes, will begin their retirement 19-53. He \\.ill resume his writing n.hen he returns t o thiq countr~..
from active tenching this summer-but both have plans for a "3Ir. Future Interests" of the American law profeqsion. Prof.
vcr!. active "retirement"! Lewis 31.Simes, \\-ill spend the first few months of his retirement
The !.oungest professor of the Ida\\' School faculty at the time on a long-planned air trip around the globe. This has been a
of his appointment in 1920. Profeqsor Shnrtel says quite simply. dream long shared with his wife-n map of the world ha< long
" J i y first interest in teaching has been to work ivith sti~dents." hung by the breakfast table at the Simes' residence. Their three-
He has counseled literally hundreds of them in the courqe of month jaunt \\.ill start in October.
their sturlies and served seven years as faculty cditor of the A soft. slow-speaking Jlissourian. Professor Simeq ha4 ser\.ed
,lliclri,qatr Law Rcilicur. on the In\\- facult!. for more than a quarter centup. From 1312
Professor Shartel has probably taught a wirier variet!. of to 1954. he was the first director of the School's l e ~ a lresearch
courses than any other man on the Ia\v facult\.. At one time or program. guiding the spending of $100.000 annuall!. in funds left
other. he estimates he has handled about half the claweq offered the School b benefactor \\'illism I\-. Cook.
.
!
hy the School. His special interest, however. has been jurispru- In 1946. Professor Simcs helped draft a model probate code
dence, and in 1947-48, his faculty colleagues chow him for the for the American Ear Association. This \\-as used as the basis for
Thomas M. Cooley lectureship on "Our Legal S~vstemand How legislation in Arkansas. Indiana. Texas. and Jliscouri.
I t Operates." The following !.ear. he was chosen for the Flo\.d Ruscell
"Today, our legal thinking and methods are just as much in I\iecham Uni~~ersit!, Professorship in Law. a position he still
need of change as are those of physics and science generall!.." he holds. .And in 1953-54, the La\\' School facult?- in\.ited him to
declares. "The lawyer understands best how the social control deliver fi\ve Thomas J I . Coole!- lectures on "Public Policy and
machinery of America works. But he can't continue to do a good the Dead Hand."
job if the machinery becomes obsolete." Professor Simes describes himself as "a firm believer in
H e maintains that courts play an important role in policy research in advancing the science of law."
making-a function which they have actually performed for "You can't do anything about reforming the law without
many years, but one ~vhich only in the last f e k decades has g
k n o ~ ~ i nwhat the law is and how it operates." he esplains.
becorn; the subject of extensive public discussion. "Research p r o ~ i d e sa means of rationalizing a number of inter-
Courts become policy makers for two reasons. Professor pretations of existing law. I t provides the basis for new legisla-
Shartel explains: 1) because there is often a lag between the tion. as well as wider use of existing law."
time new laws become desirable and the time the!. are enacted Once his three-month trip is over. Professor Simes plans t o
by legislatures, and 2 ) more importantly. because legislatures are return to research, this time t o develop a model code. basic
too busy with taxing and spending to discover gaps in the la\\- texts. and model title standards for conveyancing. Professor
and to look into details of earlier laws which may need correction. Simes' interest in conveyances has developed in part from his
One of Professor Shartel's ambitions is to bring together his work in future interests. which sometimes involve real estate.
views on this subject in a book suitable for both beginning law
and from his basic belief that law advances through research.
students and the general public. At present. he's using most of
"It is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive for the
his time outside class to finish a new book on "The Law of
Medical Practice." co-authored with Prof. JIarcus L. Plant. general public to transfer ownership of real property with a clear
After his retirement begins this summer. Professor Shnrtel title. As titles t o a particular property get longer and longer,
plans to complete the manuscript and turn it elver to the printer. they are bound to have more mistakes included," he points out.
In the fall. he and Mrs. Shartel will go to German!.. where he "In theory. the recording system for transferring title t o property
has been offered a Robert 3lerton guest professorship at the Law is so complex 2s to be almost unworkable; in practice. la~vyers
School of the University of Munich. H e lectured in Germany get along with the system by agreeing to o\-erlook certain minor
during the summers of 1950, 1953 and 1955, receiving an hon- errors in recording."
A tlrrec-tllotlth trip aroliild tlre world is pltrt~?~cdy Profcs-
b Rrirkc Slrartcl, professor o f law at dliclriqat~ for 2,?years
sor S i ~ n e sthis fall, as Ire b e ~ i t t sretirrnte~rt.His ~ . ~ t ~ t r ~ i i l ~ aud co~i?~sclor Iz~[tzdr~ds stttdettts, lrerc clrats vlith
to of
I
.~,
zlritiu,~071 m"ls, t r ~ ~ s t atld related l o ~ a 1doc~~ntctrts Iras Frcdcric Bracc, Jr., associate editor o f the Jlichigalr Law
eartrcd Iri??t tlre title of ",lilr. Flctlirc Itrterests" of tlre (md
Re1~it7~cl S O ~ Zo f Frederic Brace ('341, practicillg attor-
legal prof essio~z. ~,
?ley itr G r e e n i ~ i l lJlich.