Obituaries

Noted civil-rights litigator who worked with Thurgood Marshall dies at the age of 91

Jack Greenberg, a lawyer who worked on civil-rights cases alongside Thurgood Marshall, died this week at the age of 91. Marshall had hired Greenberg in 1949 at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Greenberg went on to lead the group for 23 years, report the New York Times and…

Oct 14, 2016 10:53 AM CDT

President of LSAC Daniel O. Bernstine dies at 69

Daniel O. Bernstine, president of the Law School Admissions Council, died last week. He was 69. A former dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School and president of Portland State University, Bernstine died suddenly at his home, the LSAC announced on its website Sunday. No cause of death was…

Sep 26, 2016 11:51 AM CDT

Law professor is among those killed in attack on American University of Afghanistan

An assistant law professor at American University of Afghanistan was among those killed in an attack late Wednesday that claimed the lives of at least 13 people. The attack on the school in Kabul ended early Thursday, about 10 hours after it began, report the New York Times and Al…

Aug 25, 2016 10:04 AM CDT

Actor who played DA on ‘Law & Order’ dies at 94

Steven Hill, the actor who played District Attorney Adam Schiff for 10 years on Law & Order, died on Tuesday at the age of 94. Hill, who also starred on Mission: Impossible for one season, died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the Associated Press reports. He had several…

Aug 24, 2016 11:24 AM CDT

‘Queen of Pro Bono’ Esther Lardent passes away after 40-year career

Esther Lardent, a key figure in the pro bono legal services movement, is remembered as inspiring others to do good.

Aug 1, 2016 1:00 AM CDT

Abner Mikva dies at 90

Former federal appeals judge and congressman Abner Mikva has died at the age of 90. Mikva, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit, died Monday, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Associated Press and the Washington Post report. The cause was bladder cancer. Mikva graduated…

Jul 5, 2016 10:28 AM CDT

Man accused of killing longtime public defender is privately arraigned on psych ward

Former colleagues of a retired longtime San Francisco public defender filled a local courtroom on Tuesday, where her 20-year-old grandnephew was scheduled to be arraigned in a murder case over her Friday slaying. Many were there to be sure that defendant Angelo Zamora got a good lawyer, because that is…

May 12, 2016 1:00 PM CDT

Robert MacCrate, former ABA president, dies at age 94

Updated: Robert MacCrate, a courtly Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer whose many accomplishments included introducing himself in song in 1987 as the American Bar Association’s incoming president, died Wednesday. He was 94 years old. Backed by four ABA staff members as a professional pianist played, MacCrate brought down the house at…

Apr 7, 2016 5:43 PM CDT

‘Queen of pro bono’ Esther Lardent dies at age 68

Esther Lardent, known as the “queen of pro bono,” died Monday. She was 68 years old. A tireless advocate for volunteer legal work, she founded the Pro Bono Institute in 1996 and served as its president until last year, when her health forced her to step down, the National Law…

Apr 5, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

Bryan Garner’s tribute to his friend and co-author Antonin Scalia

"Originalism," so called, is perhaps the single issue for which Justice Antonin Scalia, my co-author on two books, was most controversial. I'll never forget his ire—it was full-blown anger—when I suggested, while we were working on Reading Law, that we change the term "originalism" to "historicism." A scholar in England…

Apr 1, 2016 2:50 AM CDT

Man is charged with murder in deaths of his dad and lawyer-mom on Easter Sunday

A 56-year-old Virginia lawyer was found fatally shot on Easter Sunday at home, along with her husband, and the couple’s 22-year-old son is facing two second-degree murder charges. At a Monday court hearing for William Roy Brissette, who is also facing felony firearm charges, the judge refused to set bond…

Mar 28, 2016 4:25 PM CDT

Latham associate and law-office manager are killed when driver crashes car into restaurant

An associate at Latham & Watkins and the office manager of a small law firm were killed on Tuesday when a car crashed into the Sweet Tomatoes pizzeria in Newton, Massachusetts, where they were customers. The associate was 32-year-old Gregory Morin, who worked in the areas of securities litigation and…

Mar 4, 2016 10:24 AM CST

Scalia is remembered as devoted friend who attacked ideas, not people

Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered at a memorial service on Tuesday as a man who was devoted to his friends; a stickler for good writing; a fast driver behind the wheel; and a lover of baseball, opera, red wine and anchovy pizza. All eight current Supreme Court justices attended the…

Mar 2, 2016 8:59 AM CST

More details emerge on Scalia’s health and death; which friend accompanied him to Texas?

Texas officials are releasing more details about Justice Antonin Scalia’s health and death that support their decision not to perform an autopsy. Justice Antonin Scalia suffered from coronary artery disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, degenerative joint disease, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, obesity and other health problems, report the…

Feb 24, 2016 7:29 AM CST

Scalia’s son presides at funeral Mass

One of Justice Antonin Scalia’s sons, a Catholic priest, presided at the justice’s funeral Mass on Saturday. Vice President Joe Biden attended the Mass along with 10 of 11 current and retired justices on the court, report the Associated Press and the Washington Post. President Obama did not attend, indicating…

Feb 22, 2016 8:15 AM CST