Wesley N. Hohfeld, Southmayd Professor of Law, 1914-18

Wesley N. Hohfeld

REFERENCES:

Carl Wellman, “Wesley N. Hohfield,” in John A. Garraty & Mark C. Carnes, eds., 11 American National Biography 19 (1999).

Wesley N. Hohfeld (1879-1918), came to Yale from Stanford in 1914, and remained until his untimely death at the age of 39. In his brief career, he published articles on a wide range of topics, including corporate law, partnership law, conflict of laws, trusts, and jurisprudence.

Hohfeld’s most lasting contribution to legal scholarship was his two-part article “Fundamental Legal Conceptions as Applied in Judicial Reasoning,” 23 & 26 Yale L. J. 16 & 710 (1913 & 1917), which was republished as a book several times by Yale University Press (1st ed. 1923). In it, Hohfeld analyzed the notions of legal “rights” and “duties,” breaking them down into a framework of claims, privileges, powers, and immunities on the one hand, and corresponding duties, no-rights, liabilities, and disabilities on the other. 

Hohfeld was primarily concerned with legal rights that grew out of contracts, trusts, and partnership agreements. But his work has been profoundly influential in many fields. His ideas feature prominently in the work of Karl Llewellyn and the legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart, among many others. 

At the Law School, a professorship was established in his honor in 1958.