Guide to the Robert E. Mathews Papers at the Tarlton Law Library

Historical Background

For over forty-eight years, Robert Elden Mathews (1894-1983) served as a law professor at Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin, dedicating his career to legal education and the improvement of the legal profession. Robert E. Mathews was born on April 17, 1894, in Watersville, Maine. His father, Shailer Mathews, was an educator and theologian, and one of the founding faculty members of the University of Chicago Divinity School. Robert E. Mathews received an B.A. from Yale in 1915, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1920. After being admitted to the Illinois Bar, he practiced law as an associate of Frederick A. Brown from 1920-1922. In 1922, he began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School and later that year, joined the faculty of the University of Montana School of Law. On December 30, 1922, he married Grace Greenwood Caie. They had one son, Craig Mathews.

In 1924, Mathews joined the faculty of the Ohio State University College of Law where he would remain until 1964. During World War II, he served on the board of the Selective Service Administration of Columbus, Ohio (1940-1942), as an attorney of the Board of Economic Warfare and Foreign Economic Administration (1942-1944), and for the National War Labor Board (1944-1945). In the years following the war, Mathews focused primarily on labor law, and the issues and responsibilities of the legal profession. Throughout his career at Ohio State University, he took intermittent leaves of absence to teach these topics at Columbia, Harvard, the India Law Institute in New Delhi, and many others. He also published numerous papers and articles, and authored three books: Mathews’ Revision of Mechem’s Cases on Partnership (1935), Cases on Agency and Partnership (1940), and Problems Illustrative of the Responsibilities of Members of the Legal Profession (1965). The last title evolved from Mathews’ development of a new approach to teaching law known as the “problem method.” Mathews served as Editor-in-Chief of Legal Education and Public Responsibility (1959) and was also involved with several publications produced by the Labor Law Group. In 1966, he joined the University of Texas School of Law and continued to teach until 1970. After his retirement, Mathews remained professionally active, teaching occasional seminars at the University of Texas and corresponding with numerous associates in the field of legal studies.

Throughout his career, Mathews participated in many academic and professional organizations. In 1947, the League of Ohio Law Schools elected him president. Mathews also served on the US National Committee for UNESCO (1951-1955), and was chairman of the International Society of Labor Law (1958-1961). A long-standing member of the Association of American Law Schools, he was elected president in 1952. He was also a member of the American Law Institute, the International Commission of Jurists, the National Academy of Arbitrators, and the American Association of University Professors.

Robert E. Mathews died on November 4, 1983, and is buried in Monson, Maine.

Contents of the Collection

Correspondence, printed materials, creative works, financial documentation, reports, legal docuemnts, photographs and other materials (1917-1980, 13.9 linear feet) document the professional and personal life of Robert E. Mathews.

Series I, Personal (1917-1974, .8 linear feet), largely consists of correspondence with friends and family. Also noteworthy are the papers by and regarding his father, Shailer Mathews, a distinguished theologian and co-founder of the University of Chicago's Divinity School, and the papers regarding Robert E. Mathews’ son, Craig Mathews.

Series II, Professional (1925-1980,13.1 linear feet), contains the majority of the materials and represents Mathews’ work both as a law professor and within the greater legal profession. Dominating this group are course materials arranged by course title (for example "Labor Law,") which he used primarily during his tenure at Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin, and when he was a visiting professor at other institutions. Other materials in Series II include correspondence, printed materials, research and collected materials, and drafts of Mathews’ publications are found in his papers. Especially of note are Mathews’ works regarding the "problem method" of teaching which was devised and introduced to the profession by Robert E. Mathews.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Folders marked restricted require the Head of Special Collection's permission to view.

Administrative Information

Cite As

Robert E. Mathews Papers, Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin.

Processing History

Processed by Gary B. Bryson, May 1986. Finding aid edited and converted to XML by Jennifer Cummings, 2010.

Detailed Description of the Collection