Rogers, Nancy H.

KnowledgeBank at OSU

IN MEMORIAM: PROFESSOR SORENSENIn Memory of Philip C. Sorensen: A Legacy thatContinues To InstructNANCY H. ROGERS*When Phil Sorensen joined the Ohio State law faculty fourteen years aftergraduating from law school, he had already been elected Nebraska's LieutenantGovernor. He had run for Governor as his party's nominee. He had headed afoundation and chaired a national nonprofit organization dealing with corporateresponsibility. Before all of that, he had clerked for a federal judge and practicedlaw-an impressive resume. Still, what was more significant than his resumewas the deep wisdom that Professor Sorensen brought to his twenty-two yearsof law teaching. Here are a few of the lessons I learned from Professor Sorensen.You can be the first to figure out a solution for a problem that has remainedunsolved for years.Professor Sorensen showed how that could be done. As LieutenantGovernor, Professor Sorensen played a key role in broadening Nebraska's taxbase and making it more equitable.2 As a law professor, he noticed how lawscholarship had narrowed over time, and he broadened the scholarly approachof many of his colleagues by designing and putting in place the Socio-LegalStudies Center at Ohio State and establishing a partnership with the Centre forSocio-Legal Studies at Oxford University. Colleagues joined his initiative (laterrenamed the Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies), and beganusing a more comparative and an interdisciplinary approach in their ownscholarship.You can make people laugh while achieving something serious.One way that Professor Sorensen persuaded colleagues of the value ofincluding social science perspectives in their work was to host discussions onmatters of interest from a variety of perspectives. For example, as the lawbuilding's renovation neared completion, faculty began talking about whatpolicies or rules (seniority or random) should be put in place to determine theorder in which each faculty member could choose an office. Professor Sorensenconvened a law faculty discussion of the office-assignment issue with theground rule that law faculty had to pretend to be economists seeking to optimizeefficiency. Amid laughter, faculty suggested a variety of un-law-like proposals,including allowing faculty members to sell their prerogatives to select a choiceoffice. They emerged from the meeting laughing, but also more current with theCoase theorem of efficient distribution and appreciative of the value ofbroadening disciplinary perspectives.* Professor Emeritus, Director, Program on Law and Leadership, Ohio StateUniversity Moritz College of Law.21 also grew up in Nebraska and followed his efforts in the news.2172018]1OHIO STATE LAWJOURNALBy showing interest in each colleague's ideas, you can contribute toproductive collegiality.Professor Sorensen often organized gatherings of faculty members whomight have been unlikely friends. His enthusiasm for learning from each personwas contagious. Soon others in the gathering would follow the amiable andappreciative listening approach that he modeled. By the time that I arrived onthe faculty, most faculty members considered divergent viewpoints to be afaculty strength, rather than an irritation. Having watched him in action, Iattribute much of the faculty's collegiality to Professor Sorensen's informalleadership.If strategic with your time, you do not need to give up a balanced life inorder to accomplish a great deal.Professor Sorensen said, "Some people live to work. I work to live." Whiletaking on a number of initiatives in the demanding job as Associate Dean forAcademic Affairs and starting the Socio-Legal Studies Center, as well asteaching and writing, Professor Sorensen found time for what mattered deeplyto him--his wife, Jan Sorensen, and four children. Together they enjoyedcultural events-here and in London-and maintained a farm. He retired fromteaching law with time to develop as a serious sculptor, as well as to enjoy hisfamily and other cultural pursuits. Yet he accomplished more than most lawyersduring his legal career.Philip Sorensen was a kind and brilliant man who made a positive differenceas a lawyer and left a legacy that continues to instruct.218 [Vol. 79:2

In Memory of Philip C. Sorensen: A Legacy That Continues to Instruct

https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/1811/86388/1/OSLJ_V79N2_0217.pdf

In Memory of Philip C. Sorensen: A Legacy That Continues to Instruct

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

KnowledgeBank at OSU