Reviewed by Stephen E. Loeb University of Maryland
This book is a scholarly analysis of the life of an individual— James M. Landis—who seems to have had a remarkable effect on the regulatory process of the United States federal government. As a biography, it was carefully researched, documented, and written in clear and lively fashion.
In the first chapter “A Demand for Excellence” the author carefully describes the early life of Mr. Landis and emphasizes his fam-ily’s demands for excellence. In the second chapter the author describes Landis’ law school experience and his exposure to Professor (later Justice) Frankfurter. Upon graduation from Harvard Law School, Landis did graduate work under Frankfurter and then became a law clerk to Justice Brandeis. The author points out that it was through Landis’ work with Brandeis that Landis developed an interest in federal regulation.
In Chapter 3 the author discusses Landis’ experience as a professor at Harvard Law School. This chapter has some interesting comments on the development of legal education in the United States, and especially at Harvard, during the 1920s. On page 33 there are some comments relating to academic independence and academic freedom.
In Chapter 4 the author covers Landis’ influence on the drafting of Federal Securities Acts and the writing and enactment of these laws. Included is a fascinating glimpse of the politics of their drafting and passage. The chapter also mentions Landis’ appointments to the Federal Trade Commission and to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Chapter 5 contains an excellent discussion of the beginnings of the SEC and Landis’ association with Joseph P. Kennedy. In 1935 Landis became SEC Chairman and the chapter deals with his work as Chairman, and his personal life in Washington. Eventually, Landis resigned to return to Harvard as Law School Dean. Chapter 6 contains a fascinating description of the events that led to Landis’ appointment as Dean. The chapter also discusses some of Landis’ theories of what a regulator should do.
Chapter 7 discusses Landis as a “trouble shooter” for the Roosevelt administration. Chapter 8 outlines Landis’ activities during World War II and provides an interesting picture of official Washington at the time. Landis was Director of the Office of Civilian De-fense, and later became an administrator on economic affairs for matters relating to the Middle East—a post that took him to that part of the world. Chapter 9 describes his experiences in this assignment.
Chapter 10 details his departure from government service in 1945 to assume again the Deansnip at Harvard. It was a time of personal problems for Landis. He resigned from Harvard in 1946 to become chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Chapter 11 de-scribes his Chairmanship of the CAB, which he later left to work for Joseph Kennedy, and Chapter 12 continues with this period of his life, in which he also worked in private law practice. The chapter contains a detailed description of Landis’ work as an advisor to John F. Kennedy. Chapter 13 notes that when Kennedy became President he asked Landis to make a study of the regulatory com-missions, and to serve him as a special assistant. This chapter and the next mention Landis’ personal and legal problems.
The book contains a fascinating and detailed biography of a re-markable individual who apparently had a marked effect on the federal regulatory processes in the United States.
