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Judge Posner Admits He Didn’t Read Boilerplate for Home Equity Loan

Judge Richard Posner of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals does a lot of reading—but he apparently hates boilerplate as much as the next person.

Appearing at a recent American Constitution Society conference, Posner recalled his encounter with hundreds of pages of documentation for his home equity loan, Above the Law reports. Posner got a laugh when he said he didn’t read it; he just signed it.

According to Above the Law blogger David Lat, “It’s the kind of behavior one would expect from a person earning $35,000 and a buying a $600,000 home two hours outside of Phoenix, circa 2006—but not from one of America’s leading jurists.”

Or maybe not. Lat recalls his own encounter with boilerplate before speaking on a panel at New York University School of Law. He and the other speakers were presented with the school’s release form. The first to sign was Cravath, Swaine & Moore presiding partner Evan Chesler.

“He whipped out an expensive-looking pen and signed on the dotted line, without even bothering to read the (fairly brief) release,” Above the Law reports. The rest of the panelists followed suit.