It seems like intellectuals of his integrity are leaving this world one after the other. Instead of keeping their legacy in high esteem, the ideas they refuted so vehemently are what is popular with the young generation.
New talents are recongised only slowly over time. I've lived long enough to have had the experience of seeing people I'd noted long before gain wider appreciation, as well as seeing new faces appear out of the blue. There's also of course the reverse: formerly esteemed individuals falling from grace, with Alex Kozinski being one such example in the legal field.
Among the first appearances of Richard Posner at the New York Times is a mention in this 1978 article:
<https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/18/archives/regulation-do-it...>
Would it be clear from it that one is dealing with a budding giant in the legal field?
(There's an earlier match on the name, though I'm not sure that it refers to the same Richard Posner, though on reflection I suspect it is: <https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/30/archives/the-closed-enter...> (1972).)
Full search results, oldest first: <https://www.nytimes.com/search?dropmab=false&query=%22richar...>