Osler's Razor

Phil Steger was a great guy to have in class-- the kind with good answers and even better questions-- but perhaps even better outside of class, as a part of our community. He came to St. Thomas after getting a theology degree from St. Johns, a beautiful little school about an hour northwest of here where he was an All-American swimmer. Then, for thirteen years before coming to law school he... did a lot of things. Here is how his distillery's (er, more on that later) website describes it: "[Phil] lived in a monastery, served the homeless and desperate migrant workers, smuggled medical supplies into war zones, and helped preserve ancient manuscripts in some of the world’s most dangerous places."

And then he came to law school. And all of that may have had something to do with why it was a lot of fun to have him in class.

When we first did the Trial of Jesus, I asked him to play the role of Peter, who was by far the most important witness (after all, he pretty much saw everything). I was surprised when he showed up in a hoodie, but he pointed out that he was a fisherman, so that's what he was wearing. Then, on the stand, he was fantastic-- he knew the Gospels backwards and forwards, and revealed this authentic reverence for Jesus, who he referred to as the "Teacher" or the "Master." 

After law school, Phil clerked for Diana Murphy on the 8th Circuit, then worked for a big firm here, Dorsey & Whitney. 

But he also founded the Brother Justus Whiskey Company, a local distiller where they "make whiskey the Benedictine Way." And there stuff is really good.

Or at least it is, to drink, when what they are making is whiskey. When the pandemic hit, Phil and his crew switched over to making hand sanitizer. Which is exactly what I would expect. 

And you thought my Yale Law classmates were interesting?

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM