| Louis H. Pollak | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office July 12, 1978 – January 1, 1991 |
|
| Nominated by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | A. Leon Higginbotham |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo C. Robreno |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 7, 1922 New York, New York |
Louis Heilprin Pollak (born December 7, 1922, in New York, New York) is a senior district judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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Pollak was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by President Jimmy Carter on June 7, 1978. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 10, and began serving on July 12, 1978, occupying the seat vacated by Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.
Judge Pollak assumed senior status in 1991, and remains an active member of the court. In addition to his district court duties, Pollak sits by designation regularly with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and is often invited to sit by designation with the Ninth Circuit.
A number of Pollak's former law clerks have gone on to clerk on the Supreme Court of the United States. They have worked for Chief Justices Burger and Rehnquist as well as Justices Brennan, Blackmun, Breyer, Stevens, Powell, Ginsburg, O'Connor, and Scalia.
Judge Pollak received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1943, magna cum laude, and his LL.B. from the Yale Law School in 1948, where he was editor of the Law Review.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Harvard, Pollak entered the United States Army in 1943, during World War II. The war ended before he would be deployed outside of the United States.
Pollak served as a law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge of the United States Supreme Court following graduation from law school. After completing his clerkship, from 1949 to 1951, Pollak worked at the law firm now known as Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He then served in the United States Department of State as special assistant to Ambassador-at-large Philip C. Jessup until 1953. Thereafter, Pollak worked as assistant counsel for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.
In 1955, Pollak joined the faculty of the Yale Law School, where he would remain until 1974. He served as dean from 1965 to 1970. In 1974, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, becoming dean the following year. In 1978, he left the University when he was appointed to the bench. Pollak is still an adjunct member of the Penn Law faculty and teaches there regularly.
Beginning in 1950, Pollak provided assistance to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He worked actively on Brown v. Board of Education. Because he was then working for the State Department, he was not listed on the briefs in the Supreme Court.[1]
Pollak's father, Walter Pollak, was also a well-known lawyer. He is now remembered especially for his work in major civil rights cases, including Gitlow v. New York and representation of the Scottsboro Boys.
Since 1952, Pollak has been married to Katherine Weiss, the daughter of Louis S. Weiss, a founding partner of the Paul, Weiss law firm. They have five daughters and eight grandchildren.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eugene V. Rostow |
Dean of Yale Law School 1965 – 1970 |
Succeeded by Abraham Samuel Goldstein |