Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public policy matters. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. We welcome responses to the views presented here. To join the debate, please email us at [email protected].
In my early days at the Federalist Society, I sent letters to a few people seeking their help. Two letters I put in the wrong envelopes. A couple of days later, Manny Klausner called me saying he had received a letter from me intended for someone else, but that he really wanted to help. And help he did—with the same energy, optimism, wisdom, commitment, and warmth that he brought to everything he did.
Manny has passed away at age 85.
In the public policy world, Manny was a deeply philosophical and totally committed libertarian and also a strong believer in America. At the same time, he had a very practical side which helped him use his legal skills to advance the ideas he was so committed to. He was a founder of Reason Foundation and longtime editor of Reason Magazine. He started the Federalist Society’s Los Angeles Lawyers Chapter and the Libertarian Law Council. He chaired the Society’s Free Speech & Election Law Practice Group Executive Committee for many years. He tried to encourage in every way those he worked with. And his interests and enthusiasms extended far beyond public policy—especially in the realms of fine dining and wine.
I will so miss his advice, optimism, and warmth, as so many of us will.
Willette, Manny’s longtime spouse and a highly successful theatrical producer, was his partner in so much. Our deepest sympathies go out to her.
