American legal scholar and former federal appellate judge Richard A. Posner has died at the age of 87.
Posner died on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, according to the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as a longtime faculty member.
He was widely regarded as one of the most influential legal thinkers in the United States and was identified as the most-cited legal scholar of the latter half of the 20th century.
Posner joined the University of Chicago Law School faculty in 1969 before being appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
He served on the federal appeals court for 36 years, including as its chief judge between 1993 and 2000, before retiring in 2017.
During his judicial career, Posner authored approximately 3,300 opinions and became known for his pragmatic approach to legal questions and his preference for clear, accessible judicial writing.
He was also a leading figure in the development of law and economics, a field that applies economic principles to the study of legal rules and institutions.
His 1973 book, Economic Analysis of Law, became a foundational work in the discipline and has gone through several editions.
University of Chicago Law School Dean Adam Chilton described Posner as an exceptionally prolific and influential scholar, saying his contributions to the American legal system and the field of law and economics could not be overstated.
Posner’s work covered a wide range of subjects, including constitutional law, antitrust, regulation and judicial decision-making, earning him a lasting place in American legal scholarship.
