Melvin I. Urofsky discussed his latest biography, Louis D. Brandeis: A Life, as part of a "Meet the Author" event Sept. 29.The event was sponsored by the Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice as a part of the "Brandeis Celebrates Brandeis" series in September, during which the University paid tribute to its namesake. It followed a celebration on Sept. 24 that launched a new U.S. postage stamp featuring Justice Brandeis.

Urofsky is a professor of law and public policy and a professor emeritus of history at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has written and edited 52 books, including seven volumes about Brandeis' life.

"Brandeis essentially had four lives," said Urofsky. Urofsky explained that Brandeis was a lawyer, reformer, Zionist and Supreme Court justice, though he did not necessarily hold these roles simultaneously.

Brandeis did significantly better financially than other lawyers for his time, Urofsky said.

"Doing well, [Justice Brandeis] now decided to do good," he said.

Although Brandeis left a very large written record, he was a very private person who "took the right to privacy very seriously," Urofsky said. Since Brandeis burned many of his private letters, Urofsky said that his job as a historian was made

much harder.

"Everything he did was very rigorously thought out," said Urofsky. "He never wasted time. He never chitchat[ted]."

At nearly 1,000 pages, Louis D. Brandeis: A Life took only about one year to write, "though everything else took 40 years," said Urofsky, referring to the research in preparation for the book.

"The book has been good to me," said Urofsky. "I now know what heaven is like for scholars."

"The 'Meet the Author' with Melvin Urofsky was an incredible success. We had a strong turnout of Brandeis students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the broader community, including some local judges," said Director of the Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice Raquel Rosenblatt in an interview with the Justice after the event.

"Dr. Urofsky is a dynamic and engaging speaker and scholar," she said. "Through stories and examples, he gave the guests a wonderful feel for Louis D. Brandeis as a man, an acclaimed lawyer and distinguished Supreme Court justice."

Prof. Stephen Whitfield (AMST), who introduced Urofsy, told the Justice, "Prof. Urofsky, whom I have known for a third of a century, is the world's most authoritative scholar of the life and thought of Louis D. Brandeis, and his presentation was masterful under the auspices of 'Meet the Author.'"

Julie Goodman '11, a Legacy Fund intern working for American Jewish World Service, said, "It was really interesting to hear about all different aspects of his [Brandeis'] life and career. We go to this University that is named after him and a lot of times, people don't think about [who he really was].