Jane Larson (1958–2011) was the Voss-Bascom Professor of Law at the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

Education and career

Born in

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, Larson was a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

graduate of

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

and a

graduate of the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

, where she was a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

and Articles Editor of the Journal of

Law and Inequality ''Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality'', (formerly ''Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice'') is a biannual peer-reviewed law journal edited by law students at University of Minnesota Law School. It was established in 1981 to examine ...

. Larson served as

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to two U.S. Judges. From 19851986 Larson clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Rosalie E. Wahl. During the 19861987 court term she clerked for Judge Theodore McMillian of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. In 1987, Larson began working as an associate for the Washington D.C. branch of the law firm Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy. In 1990 she joined the faculty of

Northwestern University Law School The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the univer ...

, where she twice won the Robert Childs award for excellence in teaching. Larson joined the faculty of the

in 1996 where she remained for the rest of her life. She was active in the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...

Scholarship and philosophy

During her time on faculty at Northwestern, Larson developed her theory of "sexual fraud" – "intentional lies made for the express purpose of gaining sexual consent that would otherwise have been withheld," in Larson's words – as a tort for which people could sue if they suffered damages such as sexually transmitted diseases. Larson's 1993

Columbia Law Review The ''Columbia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. The journal publishes scholarly articles, essays, and student notes. It was established in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who s ...

article, "'Women Understand So Little, They Call My Good Nature "Deceit: A Feminist Rethinking of Seduction" was widely acclaimed within the fields of legal theory and feminist thought. In 1999,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

published her book ''Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex'', co-authored with Linda Hirshman. The book offered a critical analysis of the power dynamics involved in heterosexual sex, a theme echoed in Larson's scholarly work on the legal histories of

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

. Other notable areas of scholarship included her participation in amicus briefs for '' Webster v. Reproductive Health Services'' and ''Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', supporting reproductive rights and her analysis of the legal rights of residents of the Colonia (United States), colonia settlements on the U.S. Mexico border.

Death and influence

Larson died at her home in Madison, Wisconsin on December 24, 2011. Professor Larson taught law in an unorthodox way, stressing the social, cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions of legal outcomes She influenced her students to rethink concepts such as property, free speech, and gender, and had an international following.

References

External links

Jane E. Larson Papers at Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library, Law Archives, Emory University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Jane 1958 births 2011 deaths American feminists American legal scholars American legal writers 20th-century American women lawyers Feminist studies scholars Lawyers from Minneapolis Macalester College alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni University of Wisconsin Law School faculty Wisconsin lawyers American women legal scholars Writers from Minneapolis Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty 20th-century American lawyers American women academics 21st-century American women