Approximately 250 people attended a memorial service for consitutional law scholar Paul A. Freund yesterday in the Law School's Austin Hall.

Freund, who died of cancer on February 5, was renowned for his prolific writings on constitutional law and the Supreme Court.

Freund, who was Loeb University professor, taught at the Law School from 1940 until 1958. He also taught undergraduate courses in constitutional law as a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1958 to 1976.

A chair will be established in Freund's name this year, according to Pound Professor of Law James Vorenberg '49.

The speakers at the service--including one current and two former Supreme Court justices, the latter two's statements read by others--praised Freund for his service to the law community through his writing and teaching.

Freund was "by common consent the premier teacher of constitutional law in the country," said Langdell Professor Emeritus Erwin N. Gris-wold.

"He was a bright light who illuminated our law school and the study of constitutional law," Griswold said. Former Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. sent a message of appreciation which Vorenberg read at the service.

"[Freund] left deep impressions on the law, affecting the way generations of students, scores of scholars and at least one Supreme Court Justice thinks about the Constitution," Vorenberg read.

Balanced Law

Retired Justice William J. Brennan spoke of Freund's emphasis on a balanced analysis of the law.

"Paul rejected any absolutist approach both to particular legal controversies and to the more enduring antitheses of the individual and society," Brennan said. "At times, Paul's emphasis on balance led him to criticize the court on which I served," he said.

Brennan also discussed the parallels Freund drew between art and law. He quoted Freund's statement that "both law and art seek to accommodate change within the framework of continuity."

Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun cancelled his scheduled speech due to illness. His address was read by his daughter, Dr. Nancy Blackmun Coniaris.

Coniaris spoke of the "misfortune of [Freund's] never having been on the Supreme Court."

"In my opinion," she read, "he deserved the nomination."