Marshall as T&E Professor Appears to Be Urban Legend

Earlier on this blog, I discussed evidence which tended to support the statement that Anna Nicole Smith's husband, J. Howard Marshall II, taught Trusts and Estates at Yale.  Statements to this effect appeared in legal briefs, a leading law school casebook, and various media reports.

However, it now appears that the assertion that Mr. Marshall taught T&E is just another urban legend.

Reference librarians from the University of San Francisco have conducted extensive research and have concluded as follows:

While the Yale law school wasn’t able to say what courses Marshall taught, a query directed to the reference staff of Manuscripts and Archives at the Yale University Library hit pay dirt. They promptly consulted their records and located the Yale University School of Law Catalogue for the years that Marshall taught. They determined that in the 1931-1932 academic year he taught "Business Units II (Management)", "Procedure II (Code Pleading)", and two honors and graduate courses entitled "Problems in Business Unites II (Management)" and "Some Legal and Business Aspects of Origination and Syndication". In the only other year he taught (1932-1933) he is listed as teaching "Procedure I", "Business Units I (Losses)", "Taxation", "Business Units II (Management)", and two "Seminars in Business Units": "I (Losses)" and "III (Finance)". Needless to say, none of these courses look anything like wills and trusts.

See Anna Nicole Smith’s First Husband Not the Law Prof. They Say He Was, ZiefBrief, March 13, 2007.

Special thanks to John Shafer (Reference Librarian, Dorraine Zief Law Library, University of San Francisco School of Law) for bringing this report to my attention.