KU Law community mourns passing of professor emeritus
LAWRENCE - The University of Kansas School of Law community is mourning the passing of Professor Emeritus Robert C. Casad, who died April 21. He was 93.
Casad joined the faculty of the University of Kansas Law School in 1959 and devoted the next 38 years of his professional career to scholarship and teaching. He was named the John H. and John M. Kane Professor of Law in 1981 in recognition of his internationally known scholarship in civil procedure, jurisdiction and conflict of laws.
An active member of the American Law Institute and the International Association for Procedural Law (IAPL), Casad was a frequent participant in IAPL conferences in Europe. He served as a visiting scholar/lecturer at universities in Europe, Asia and Central America and as a visiting professor at UCLA, Illinois, Hastings, Vienna, Michigan and Emory.
He received the university's Balfour Jeffrey Research Achievement Award (Higuchi Prize) in 1984 and the law school's Rice Prize for Faculty Scholarship in 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1991. In 2008, the Casad Comparative Law Lecture Series was established in his honor. The Kansas Bar Association honored Casad in 2011 with its Professionalism Award, recognizing an individual who best exemplifies, represents and encourages other lawyers to follow the highest standards of the legal profession.
In 1997, he retired from classroom teaching but not from research and writing. He continued publishing books and articles that are frequently quoted and cited. His book “Jurisdiction in Civil Actions” is a common feature on the shelves of federal judges and has been quoted numerous times by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Although Bob was already retired when I arrived at KU Law in 1998, he was still a leading figure in the field of jurisdiction and civil procedure and continued to participate in the life of the law school,” said Stephen Mazza, dean of the School of Law. “He was part of the generation of KU Law scholars who brought national attention to the school. He will be missed.”
A memorial service will be held on May 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries (ECM) Building, 1204 Oread Ave., Lawrence, Kan. Remembrances and condolences can be shared at warrenmcelwain.com.