Grant Gilmore

Grant Gilmore (April 8, 1910 – May 1, 1982) was an American law professor who taught at Yale Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, the College of Law (now Moritz College of Law) at the Ohio State University, and Vermont Law School. He was a scholar of commercial law and one of the principal drafters of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Gilmore attended Boston Latin School and then went on to Yale University, where he earned a PhD in Romance languages. Prior to his career in law, he taught French at Yale University.

He authored a number of books on various areas of commercial law, including secured transactions, admiralty law, and contract law, and also drafted Article Nine of the Uniform Commercial Code. Perhaps his most famous work is his survey and criticism of contract law, The Death of Contract. Gilmore is also known for his quote:"Law reflects, but in no sense determines the moral worth of a society…. The better the society, the less law there will be. In Heaven, there will be no law, and the lion will lie down with the lamb…. The worse the society, the more law there will be. In Hell, there will be nothing but law, and due process will be meticulously observed."

Selected publications

 * Gilmore, Grant. Security Interests in Personal Property (2 Volumes).  1st edition, Little, Brown & Company, 1965; 2nd edition, The Lawbook Exchange, 1999.  ISBN 1-886363-81-1
 * Gilmore, Grant. The Death of Contract.  The Ohio State University Press, 1974, 2nd edition 1995, Ronald K.L. Collins, editor:   ISBN 0-8142-0676-X
 * Gilmore, Grant & Black, Charles. The Law of Admiralty.  Foundation Press, 1975. OCLC 1228473.
 * (second edition, with new foreword and final chapter by Philip Bobbitt, Yale University Press, 2014. ISBN 9780300189919)