High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walton Hale Hamilton (1881–1958) was an American law professor who taught at the Yale Law School (1928–1948), although he was an economist, not a lawyer. Considered a leading figure in the Legal Realism movement at Yale, Hamilton was a vigorous critic of legal formalism and sought to apply the insights of economic studies to the law. Hamilton taught courses in trade regulation, torts, and public control of business. He was a professor of law at the Yale Law School from 1928 to 1948, and was ultimately appointed Southmayd Professor of Law, emeritus.