Leonard Packel, retired lawyer and Villanova law professor emeritus, has died at 89

Leonard Packel, 89, of Wynnewood, professor emeritus of law at Villanova University, former chief of criminal law for Pennsylvania’s attorney general, onetime chief of the trial division of Philadelphia’s public defender’s office, adviser, and author, died Monday, Sept. 9, of complications from Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease at Bristol House Memory Care in Warrington.

Professor Packel was the nephew of Israel Packel, a former state attorney general, state Superior Court judge, and interim state Supreme Court judge, and he credited his uncle’s positive influence for his passion for the law, civic service, and education. Like the judge, Professor Packel graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, worked in state government under Gov. Milton Shapp in the 1970s, and taught law at a local university.

Judge Packel taught at Temple, and Professor Packel taught at what is now Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law from 1973 until 2012. He officially retired in 2006 but continued to teach trial practice classes for another six years.

“He wasn’t motivated by money or materialism,” said his son Daniel. “He loved the relationships with his students.”

Patient and friendly as a rule, Professor Packel was a natural mentor, and he used humor and collegiality to forge connections in the classroom. He was relatable and had an open-door policy, and, his family said, “reveled at the many moments when students would pop in for help and advice.”

A former Villanova law student said in an online tribute that Professor Packel was “hands down the best teacher I had.” Another said: “He brought criminal law to life and also made me smile.” A third former student said: “His wit and intelligence was complemented by the evident joy he took in teaching.”

He worked at a private firm right out of law school in 1961 and then in the public defender’s office and state Attorney General’s Office from the mid-1960s to 1973. He handled cases about armed robbery and domestic abuse as a public defender, and oversaw Shapp’s policies on police spot checks, prison populations, and other issues at the state Capitol.

He joined the Villanova staff as one of its first Jewish professors in 1973 and taught classes in trial practice, advanced criminal procedure, business associations, rules of evidence, and other topics. He wrote articles for the Villanova Law Review and other publications about juvenile law, confidentiality, and delinquency law.

He edited the text of other professors and was quoted in The Inquirer and Daily News as a legal expert in stories about hit-and-run fatalities, the appeals process, and other news. In 1988, he told The Inquirer that cases involving government informants “are always tough. To some extent, the outcome is always a crapshoot.”

He was appointed to Shapp’s Pennsylvania Ethics Commission in 1979 and cowrote Pennsylvania Evidence, a popular resource for law experts across the state, in 1987. He also served on the 1998 committee that helped the state Supreme Court adopt its first rules of evidence and was an academic adviser when the court updated the rules in 2013.

In an online story about the impact of the changes in 2013, he said: “It’s something that drafters of this groove on, but nobody else in the world cares a bit about. It’s sort of like the guys who fix the internal part on your automobile. You use it every day, but you don’t know what goes on inside.”

Leonard Packel was born April 7, 1935, in Philadelphia. He was named the best student athlete as a senior at West Philadelphia High School and graduated in 1953.

He earned a scholarship from the Philadelphia Board of Education, a bachelor’s degree from Penn’s Wharton School in 1957, and a law degree at Harvard University in 1960. He joined the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity at Penn and served six months in the Army after law school.

He met Brandeis University student Susan Finesilver in 1959 while at Harvard, and they married in 1961. They lived in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Wynnewood, and adopted sons David and Daniel. His wife died in 2022.

Professor Packel and his wife traveled to Europe, joined book and movie clubs, and went on memorable dinner dates with their friends to favorite spots around town. He took his sons to the zoo and coached them in Little League baseball.

He told interesting stories and sang silly limericks. “When we think of our dad, we think first of his kindness,” said his son Daniel. ”We think of his character and integrity. He was just such a good man.”

In addition to his sons, Professor Packel is survived by two grandchildren, a sister, and other relatives.

A celebration of his life was held Sept. 15.

Donations in his name may be made to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Box 781352, Philadelphia, Pa. 19178, and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pa. 19085.