Lawrence “Larry” Berger, 88, emeritus professor of law, died May 22 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Berger, A Korean War veteran who served in the United States Coast Guard, was a faculty member in the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1960 to his retirement in 2002. He received a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949 and a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University in 1952.
He served as a legal officer in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1953 to 1956, and practiced law in New Jersey from 1956 to 1959. In 1959, Berger was appointed a teaching fellow at Rutgers University Law School.
Berger joined the NU College of Law in 1960 as an assistant professor and advanced to full professor by 1964. He was a visiting professor of law at the University of Minnesota in 1969-1970 and UCLA in 1974-1975.
While an NU faculty member, Berger published numerous articles in the field of real property, his major area of specialization. He taught in the real estate transactions and accounting areas, and served on many university committees.
The Berger-Harnsberger wing of the NU College of Law was dedicated in honor of Berger and his friend, Dick Harnsberger, in 1990.
In 1998, the Nebraska Law Review published a symposium issue in honor of Berger. An introductory piece written by then law college dean Harvey Perlman, who recently stepped down after 15 years as chancellor of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, said Berger’s time at the NU College of Law was remembered by alumni as the “Berger Era.”
“(Larry) leads the faculty, both by his word and deed, toward recognition of the importance and imperative of scholarship and publication,” Perlman wrote in the Nebraska Law Review publication. “No member of the faculty is more loyal and committed to the future of the college than he. As he has for almost 40 years, he continues to demand excellence from both his students and his colleagues.”
Berger was active on the Association of American Law Schools’ committee on small law schools and the advisory committee to the Journal of Legal Education.
Berger is survived by his wife, Betsy Berger; daughter, Nancy Berger of Sunrise, Florida; son, Andrew Berger and his wife, Linda, of Cincinnati; son, James Berger and wife, Vicki, of Ogden, Utah; brother Bernard Berger and his wife Inez; and grandchildren, Laura, Daniel, Timothy, Julia, Hannah, John and Michael Berger.
Services are May 25 in Cincinnati. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the University of Nebraska College of Law, P.O. Box 830902, Lincoln, NE 68583. An official obituary is available here.
