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Professor Lawrence P. King died on April 1, 2001. As a teacher, scholar, law reformer, and lawyer, he had an enormous impact on the bankruptcy world during the past half century. He dedicated his professional life to the continuing improvement of the bankruptcy system and, through both his teaching and writing, to the education of thousands of law students, judges, lawyers, legislators, and government officials. He was one of the true giants in the bankruptcy field and will be sorely missed by his friends and colleagues in the profession. Most important, millions of individuals, entrepreneurs, employers, and others who in the future will need relief from undue financial burdens lost a loyal friend and zealous advocate.
I. PROFESSOR KING AS TEACHER
Larry started his teaching career in 1957 at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan. He left in 1959 to join the faculty of New York University School of Law, where he had graduated six years earlier. He was a protege of the late Professor Charles Seligson, the dean of the bankruptcy bar from the 1940s until his death in 1975. It was fitting that Larry became the Charles Seligson Professor of Law at New York University School of Law. Larry taught bankruptcy and commercial law courses at NYU for more than forty years. He also served as NYU's Associate Dean in the 1970s, and taught as a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Temple University, University of Houston, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv University, and Haifa University.
Professor King's teaching career cannot be adequately described by merely listing his formal teaching positions. He was always willing and eager to educate audiences at all levels and in many different contexts. He taught at numerous professional seminars and educational programs, including seminars sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center for judges of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts, and those sponsored by state and local bar associations throughout the United States. He also was a frequent speaker at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Most notably, he created, directed, and taught in the NYU Workshop on Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization, which provided three-day high-quality basic and advanced educational programs to thousands of...