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Professor Emeritus of Law Lewis Aaron Schiller was born in Houston, Texas, in 1929. He received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin (1950), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also earned his J.D. at Texas (1952), where he was legislation editor of the Texas Law Review (1951-1952). He graduated first in his law school class. Following law school, he was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force JAG (Judge Advocate General) Corps, where he defended airmen accused of crimes.
Professor Schiller became an associate with the Houston law firm Trotter & Morris where he practiced corporate law and handled contract litigation (1954-1955). He then established himself as a sole practitioner in Houston (1956-1957), where he practiced real estate law and domestic relations. Building upon his interest in international law, Professor Schiller earned a Master’s degree in 1958 from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University), which led to a position as Adjudicator with the U.S. Department of State (Washington, DC) in the visa office where he prepared opinions on immigration matters (1959-1962).
In 1962, Professor Schiller began his teaching career with GW Law as an assistant professor, becoming a full professor in 1969. The first course he taught was insurance; it remained one of his favorite courses, and was the subject of most of his writings. The consulting and expert witness work he engaged in during his time at GW mostly related to insurance law. He also taught Agency & Partnership, Real Property, Modern Real Estate Transactions, and Land Use Planning. Professor Schiller worked closely with Professor James Brown in expanding the real property curriculum at the Law School, and together they developed Modern Real Estate Transactions, which typically had a large enrollment, and Land Use Planning, which Professor Schiller taught as a seminar.
Professor Schiller was a member of the Faculty Library Committee for several years, beginning under the tenure of Law Librarian Hugh Bernard.
He is a member of the Order of the Coif.
He retired in 1996 after thirty-four years of service to the Law School.
Interviewer:
Jennie C. Meade, Director of Special Collections
Interview Date/Location:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, at the studio of American Media Professionals, West Palm Beach, Florida.