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Stephen J. Ellmann
Stephen Jonathan Ellmann, son of authors Richard and Mary
Ellmann, was born on June 20, 1951 and died on March 8, 2019, surrounded by his
loving family. A distinguished author,
educator, and advocate for social justice, Steve was an expert on the South African
legal system during and after the apartheid era and a pioneer in the
development of clinical legal theory studies.
Diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in 2015, Steve spent his remaining
years writing a monumental biography of South African judge Arthur Chaskalson,
a leading figure in the struggle against apartheid, which is soon to be
published. His legal career began in
Atlanta, GA, where he served as Law Clerk to Hon. Elbert Tuttle, U.S. Court of
Appeals, Fifth (now Eleventh) Circuit in 1976-77. From 1977-83 he worked as staff attorney at
the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL, where his practice included
institutional reform litigation for mentally disabled people and prison
inmates, voting rights cases, anti-Ku Klux Klan suits, and defense work in
capital murder trials. In 1983 he took
up the position of Associate Professor of Law at Columbia University, where he
founded the Clinical Theory Workshop in 1985.
He pursued his passion for legal pedagogy with a move in 1992 to New
York Law School, where as Martin Professor of Law he has trained hundreds of
future attorneys in legal ethics and in support of social justice.
A long-term resident of Upper Montclair, NJ, Steve is survived
by his beloved wife Teresa M. Delcorso Ellmann, his children Brian, David, and
Nora Ellmann, and his sisters Maud and Lucy Ellmann, Brothers-in-law John
Wilkinson and Todd McEwen, Daughters-in-law Karen Ellmann and Nevedha Rajan and
Grandsons Patrick and Zac Ellmann.
Donations in Steve's memory can be made to the New York Law
School Stephen J. Ellmann South Africa Judicial Fellows Program at www.nyls.edu/InMemoriam
Donations also may be sent to the program c/o New York Law
School, Office of Institutional Advancement, 185 West Broadway, New York, NY
10013
Additionally, donations can be made to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation to support research and
advocacy to find a cure for Cholangiocarcinoma.
We invite you to join us for Steve’s funeral on Monday, March
11, 2019 at 11:00 am at B’nai Keshet (99 South Fullerton Ave, Montclair,
NJ). A Jewish burial will then take
place at Our Lady of the Magnificat Cemetery (2 Miller Road, Kinnelon, NJ) at
1pm.
The family will sit Shiva at their home on Monday, March 11 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Tuesday, March
12th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm and 6:30pm to 9:00pm.
For more information please visit: https://proutfuneralhome.com
