Brunet, Edward

Edward ­Brunet

Henry J. Casey Professor of Law

Years Served: 44

Path to Lewis & Clark:

I quickly burned out while working as an antitrust attorney in a large law firm. A friend, Vince Blasi (now a faculty member at Columbia), advised me to look into teaching. Lewis & Clark was one of three schools that offered me a position—and the only one in an attractive location. Doug Newell started working here in 1971 and I began a year later. He led the charge to get the law school its national accreditation, and I joined him in that effort. It was one of the first major developments I had a hand in at the law school.

Favorite courses to teach:

All of them. Over the years, I taught Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Antitrust, Administrative Law, Federal Courts, and Energy Law.

What you’ve enjoyed most about your work:

The super staff, sensational faculty, and terrific students.

Most memorable moment:

Being honored by my former students with an endowed professorship in my name is quite memorable, in addition to working on obtaining national accreditation for the law school. I do recall a few complaints from my students, as well. I taught a 9 p.m. civil procedure course in which students would sometimes fall asleep. I had a trick to keep them awake, though: I always maintained eye contact. At some point during class, I would say, “There are four people asleep at this moment.” Everyone would wake up and look around to see who the guilty parties were.

Favorite place on campus:

The lectern in Room 2 is where I want to be.

What you’re most proud of:

The great progress of Lewis & Clark Law School. I taught a bit at Emory School of Law, and in my mind, the two schools are no different in quality.

What’s next:

I’m not sure. I’ve been extremely lucky in my career. Retirement will be a challenge for me, but life is good.

Fun fact:

If I hadn’t gone into law, I would have pursued sales or acting, although I’d probably be a poor actor. I love sales. I like the idea of marketing a product and bringing out the best of it that I can. Professor Ed Belsheim, who taught at Lewis & Clark from 1972 to 1992, was the best salesperson I knew.