Edward Francis Sherman

Edward ("Ed") Francis Sherman, former Dean of Tulane Law School and a preeminent scholar in complex litigation, passed away peacefully at his home in Washington, DC on June 7, 2022, at the age of 84.

Ed was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1937 to Ray Sherman, the former mayor of El Paso, and Mary Stedmond, whose parents were pioneers of the city. His grandfather was the first Wells Fargo agent in El Paso. Ed loved to tell stories of playing around the railroad yards near his home as a child. During the Great Depression, his mother always had a pot of beans on the stove to feed impoverished travelers making their way West.

Ed was a proud Boy Scout. Later in his life, he often recounted the wondrous summers he had at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, and a journey by train in 1950 with his scout troop to the National Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

When Ed was 9 years old, his father died. Seven years later, when he was 16, his mother died, thrusting him into adulthood without his parents, but with strong support from his sister Kay, his lifelong friend Dolph Hatfield, cousins, aunts and uncles. His Irish family were strong Catholics, and his local parish was an important part of his childhood.

He graduated from El Paso High School in 1955, where he was valedictorian and president of the study body.

In 1955, Ed enrolled at Georgetown University, where he majored in philosophy. At Georgetown he was the editor of the poetry journal and was features editor of The Hoya student newspaper. He also took part in an interview with then Senator John F. Kennedy as he was considering a run for the presidency.

In 1959, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he met his two greatest loves: the law and his future wife, Alice, to whom he was married for 59 years. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as a legal aide for Nevada Governor Grant Sawyer and wrote articles for various publications, including The New Republic and The Atlantic.

In 1963, Alice and Ed married, and they moved back to El Paso, where he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge R. Ewing Thomason. During his clerkship, he worked on the high profile case of Billie Sol Estes, who was tried and convicted on fraud charges.

After his clerkship, he practiced law at Mayfield, Broaddus & Perrenot law firm in El Paso and started his lifelong commitment to pro bono work. He loved to tell the story about the role that he played during his time as a junior lawyer in integrating the restaurants of Juarez, Mexico.

In 1965, he was called up to active duty in the U.S. Army. While serving during the Vietnam War, one of his duties was to notify families about the death of their sons in Vietnam. He experienced the profound grief of mothers and fathers as he showed up at their doorstep.

He was stationed at the Army Pictorial Center in Long Island City, where videos came in daily from Vietnam. He was deeply disturbed by the horrors he saw in the raw video from the war and became a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War after his two years of active duty. He remained in the Army Reserve in the JAG Corp for nearly 15 more years, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He often taught a short course at The Judge Advocate General School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

After leaving active military duty in 1967, he became a teaching fellow at Harvard Law School, a job that launched his career as a law professor and dean. He was then hired at Indiana University School of Law, where he became one of the country's leading experts on military law. He maintained his activism and social justice activities at Indiana University, doing extensive pro bono work for the ACLU and other organizations. He also was instrumental in helping former draft resisters with amnesty. In 1970, he was a founding board member of the Lawyers Military Defense Committee, which provided free-of-charge civilian counsel to U.S. military members in Vietnam and West Germany.

From Indiana, he joined the faculty at the University of Texas School of Law, where he focused on civil procedure, complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He worked with the ACLU on several jail and prison reform cases. Well-liked by his students, he received many student recognitions and awards for his teaching and mentorship. At the end of most semesters, Ed would often invite his students to his house for a party that occasionally lasted until the early morning hours.

After 19 years on the faculty of the University of Texas School of Law, Sherman joined the Tulane Law School in 1996 as its dean, where he was described as a compassionate leader who unified the school. He hosted several Supreme Court justices at Tulane summer programs in Europe while serving as dean. Ed was instrumental in the formation of a summer Tulane mediation program at Humboldt University of Berlin. While at Tulane, he served as an expert witness and consultant on large multi-party and class action cases, including litigation involving Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. He also helped draft the Louisiana meditation statues and was active with the Louisiana Bar.

When he stepped down as Dean in 2001, he remained an active leader on the faculty until his retirement in 2015, becoming professor emeritus. Over the course of his career, he published nearly a dozen books and 100 articles and book chapters, and was the principal drafter of the Texas and Louisiana mediation statutes as well as the Republic of Vietnam's Code of Civil Procedure. In 2012, true to his love of poetry and literature, he endowed funds to create the Dean Edward and Alice Sherman Law and Literature Room in the Tulane law library.

The American Bar Association has awarded Sherman its Dean Robert McKay Award "in recognition of his commitment to the advancement of justice, scholarship, and the legal profession." He has also been awarded the ABA's Special Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions to the improvement of justice relating to class actions and complex litigation.

Ed was always reading and could talk about a multitude of topics with interest and passion. He loved conversations and was often the last person to leave a party. He worked long hours with a true love for his work - he loved being a lawyer, and he loved lawyers. He brought this same passion to the considerable time he spent with his family and friends, often starting with a martini and ending after a long dinner with engaging conversation.

He cherished his summers in Maine spent with his wife Alice, family and friends. He loved the views and rough terrain of the coast, and searching for "treasures" at flea markets, yard sales and auctions throughout the state.

He is survived by his wife Alice, his sons Ned and Paul, his grandchildren Ted, Nora, Katlia and Lila, and his daughters-in-law Tinzar Sherman and Kelly Sherman.

Ed's life will be celebrated later this summer in Maine and in the fall in New Orleans.