Lillian Riemer BeVier (born June 11, 1939) is a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law. She was the first woman to become a full professor at the law school, and she holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus.

Early life and education

BeVier earned a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1961 and a Juris Doctor degree from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

in 1965.Virginia Law Faculty Biography: Lillian R. BeVier
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Early career

BeVier began her career working on staff at Stanford University, and she also worked as a research associate for a

professor. She later practiced law at a firm in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

and worked as an assistant professor at Santa Clara University School of Law.

Professorial career

BeVier joined the University of Virginia law faculty in 1973. She has taught constitutional law (with special emphasis on First Amendment issues), intellectual property (trademark, copyright), real property, and torts. She was the first woman to become a full professor at the Law School. In May 2010, BeVier retired after 40 years as a law professor, 37 of which were spent at the University of Virginia.

Failed nomination to the Fourth Circuit

On October 22, 1991, President

George Herbert Walker Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

nominated BeVier to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. However, her nomination was never processed by the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and was returned to Bush at the end of his presidency.

Possible nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court

BeVier was mentioned as a potential replacement for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

ultimately selected Samuel Alito.

References