James B. Atleson

CAPE ELIZABETH – James B. Atleson was a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having taught labor law and related courses to many hundreds of students for over 40 years. He authored numerous books and articles on labor law and labor history, including the seminal 1983 book “Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law”. A labor arbitrator for several decades, he resolved many hundreds of individual employment disputes. He received his law degrees from Stanford University and Ohio State University, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. Throughout his life, he allied himself in mind and spirit with the working people of the world, their rights, and their struggles.

Apart from the world of law, he was an inveterate and unrepentant banjo player and aficionado of old time music, playing in his own group, the Hot Cargo String Band, and with a community of musicians in New York, Maine, and elsewhere.

He was born and raised in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio. With his wife of 61 years, Carol, he moved to Cape Elizabeth in 2006.

He is survived by Carol; their two sons, Michael and Jonathan; two grandsons; and his sister, Joyce.

Services are private. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel. To view Jim’s memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com