In a fierce competition that pitted six of the nation's top legal minds -- or, rather, appetites -- against one another, professor of law W. Bradley Wendel took his place in history March 16 as the Cornell Law School's 2011 Pie Eating Champion.

Wendel took the prize by scarfing a stunning 2.11 ounces more pie in the allotted time than second-place finisher professor Jeffrey Rachlinski. Law School Dean Stewart Schwab and professors John Mollenkamp, Charles Whitehead and Gregory Alexander all conceded defeat.

The first-of-its-kind event, to raise money for the law students' service trip to New Orleans, took in $777.54 -- "far more than our expectations," said lead organizer, emcee and judge Michael Barnett, J.D. '13.

He and classmates proposed the idea a few weeks earlier, Barnett said -- and contrary to all expectations, the faculty jumped at the chance to participate.

The 9-inch pies -- two apple, four berry -- were donated by Hughes Dining.

Wendel praised the quality of the pies and reported no ill effects from the hasty consumption. "It got up my nose a little," he admitted. "But I'm surprisingly not that full."

"I'm very proud," he added. "I knew I could do it."

Schwab, meanwhile, said he held his fellow scholars in new esteem. "I'm impressed by the talent of my colleagues," Schwab said. "It's an honor."