Richard Posner, the Chicago federal appeals judge who is mediating the Microsoft Corp. antitrust dispute, is often acclaimed as a brilliant jurist — but not usually in the text of an opinion by fellow judges.
Posner was extensively extolled in a footnote to a 7th Circuit decision handed down Feb. 1. The opinion catalogs Posner’s activities, including his Microsoft mediation and the fact that he “has written more books than many people read in a lifetime.” In the opinion, penned by Judge Terence Evans, the panel concluded that “Judge Posner has more on his plate than a long-haul trucker working an ‘all you can eat’ buffet line.” One possible reason for the praise: The panel partly reversed Posner’s rulings in Bankcard America v. Universal Bancard Systems, in which Posner presided as trial judge.
