law notes - University of Kentucky College of Law

Two outstanding faculty retire
from UK College of Law
Professor Alvin Goldman spent the first part of his
life in New York City and received his undergraduate
degree from Columbia University. There, an American
History professor inspired Goldman to consider law
school and enroll at the New York University School
of Law.
After graduation, Goldman joined Parker Chapin &
Flattau in New York City. At the end of his first year
he was asked to assist the partner in charge of labor
issues. That assistance developed Goldman’s interest
in labor and negotiation, an area in which he received
little law school preparation.
In 1965, after five years of practicing law, Goldman
accepted a position teaching at the University of
Kentucky College of Law. Goldman vividly recalls
forgetting his notes to teach his first class. “I practiced
law for five years,” he said, “So I decided I could fake
it.”
As a law professor, Goldman expanded on his
passions for labor law and negotiation. Most notable
among his contributions is his book on negotiation,
created out of the need he saw in the legal profession
for instruction in this area. Goldman also explored his
interest in Constitutional Law, a topic which became
his favorite to teach. He came to admire lawyers like
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas who, “saw
the big picture in terms of the basic concepts that
drove the framers to create the kind of systems that
give government the power to promote the general
welfare without destroying individual liberty.”
Having struck up a friendship with a Belgian labor
lawyer at a conference, Goldman was invited to
be Scholar-in-Residence at the Leuven University
Institute for Labour Law in Belgium in 1973. “By
studying other systems,” says Goldman, “you get to
know your own system and how it can change for the
better.”
As for his future plans, Goldman is retiring from the
classroom only. He remains active in the International
Society for Labour Law and the National Academy
of Arbitrators. He will continue to work in labor
arbitration and write, having just completed a short
chapter for a book soon to be published in Europe.
He also plans on learning how to fly fish, when he can
find the time. Based on the retirement schedule he
has set for himself, it looks like Kentucky’s fish will be
safe for a while. •
Professor Alvin L. Goldman retires
after 43 Years at the UK College of Law
celebrating 100 years of excellence • Fall 2008 13