Lawyer, 26, is rescued after boat sinks but dies of hypothermia

A young Illinois lawyer known for her engaging personality and the help she gave others died over the weekend after a boating accident. Ashley Haws, 26, worked at the Davi Law Group, which called her “a beautiful and brilliant rising star in the legal community, the Chicago Tribune reports. She…

Jun 3, 2014 7:49 PM CDT

Lawrence E. Walsh, past ABA president and independent counsel on Iran-Contra scandal, dies at 102

Jun 1, 2014 7:00 AM CDT

Judge Harold Baer dies at 81

U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr., whose decisions drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, has died at the age of 81. Baer died from complications after a fall, his daughter told the New York Times. Baer was best known, the Times says, for a 1996 ruling in…

May 29, 2014 2:25 PM CDT

Debevoise partner dies in apparent suicide jump

A Debevoise corporate partner died Friday evening after apparently jumping from the 22nd floor of his New York City apartment by Central Park. Stephen Hertz had a practice focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions for private equity clients, according to his law firm bio. The New York Daily News said…

May 19, 2014 1:35 PM CDT

Becker-Posner Blog shutters after Gary Becker’s death | Ready for chip-and-pin credit cards?

Nobel Prize-winning economist and University of Chicago professor Gary Becker died last week at the age of 83, and over the weekend, The Becker-Posner Blog said “farewell” with no other commentary. Other law bloggers paid their respects. “Becker pioneered the application of economic analysis to questions that were previously considered…

May 16, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Prosecutor who died in fiery chain-reaction crash ‘was an American hero,’ state AG says

A longtime Pennsylvania prosecutor was among three people killed Monday in a fiery seven-vehicle accident on a Pennsylvania highway. Robert Rosner, 52, died at the scene of the Interstate 78 accident after the car he was driving was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, crashed into several other cars and…

May 14, 2014 10:00 PM CDT

Office managing partner of Florida firm is killed in bike wreck

The managing partner of the Fort Myers, Florida, office of a Tampa, Florida-based firm has been killed in a bicycle-car accident. James Chelius Jr., 61, died Sunday after the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car, the Naples Daily News reports. Chelius was managing partner of the Fort…

May 7, 2014 8:44 PM CDT

U of Chicago law student leader dies after wrong-way traffic crash; driver is charged in DUI case

A third-year law student who was a popular leader at the University of Chicago died last week following a wrong-way traffic crash in which a driver is now facing felony charges. Laura LaPlante, who was president of the school’s Federalist Society chapter and known for her organizational skills and her…

May 5, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

10th Circuit Judge William Holloway Jr. dies

William J. Holloway Jr., a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, died Friday. He was 90 years old. According to the Associated Press, Holloway died from a respiratory illness at his Oklahoma City home. Holloway, a former Justice Department lawyer, was appointed to the 10th Circuit…

Apr 25, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

Wachtell Lipton co-founder Leonard Rosen dies at 83

Leonard Rosen, the co-founder of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has died at the age of 83. Rosen created Wachtell Lipton’s bankruptcy practice and was a partner at the firm from 1965 until 1997, when he took on an of counsel role, according to the law firm. He died on…

Apr 18, 2014 2:38 PM CDT

Charles Keating, former lawyer and key figure in S&L debacle, dies at 90

Charles Keating, a former Cincinnati lawyer who went to prison after the collapse of his savings and loan, has died at the age of 90. A Los Angeles Times obituary describes Keating as “the poster child of the savings and loan debacle 25 years ago.” He spent less than five…

Apr 2, 2014 12:51 PM CDT

Former Howard law dean and diversity leader Henry Ramsey dies at 80

Henry Ramsey Jr., a path-breaking lawyer, judge and former dean of Howard University School of Law, died March 14 after suffering a stroke at home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 80 years old. Ramsey’s son, Charles Ramsey, told Diverse Issues in Higher Education that his father became interested in a…

Mar 21, 2014 8:10 PM CDT

Iran-Contra prosecutor and former ABA president Lawrence Walsh is dead at 102

Lawrence E. Walsh, a former prosecutor, federal judge and BigLaw partner who served as president of both the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association during an achievement-filled career, has died at the age of 102. Perhaps best known for his work as a court-appointed independent counsel…

Mar 20, 2014 10:42 PM CDT

Westboro leader Fred Phelps Sr. dies; his church’s funeral protests changed federal law

Fred Phelps Sr., who tested the boundaries of free speech as the founding pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, known for its picketing of military funerals and opposition to homosexuality, has died of natural causes. He was 84 years old. Phelps and other church members publicly blamed tolerance of homosexuals…

Mar 20, 2014 7:09 PM CDT

Akin Gump co-founder Robert Strauss dies at 95

Texas lawyer Robert Strauss, a political insider who co-founded Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, has died at the age of 95. The New York Times describes Strauss as “a smooth-talking Texas lawyer and businessman who became a consummate political insider.” The Washington Post says “his quick wit and a…

Mar 20, 2014 12:12 PM CDT