Obituaries

Man who worked as office boy for Morgan Lewis before eventually making partner dies at 96

Lawyer Benjamin M. Quigg Jr., 96, of Jenkintown, Pa., died this week of pneumonia, leaving behind a legacy that saw him rise from a teenage office hand to a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he retired from in 1986. Quigg joined the firm in 1935 and then worked…

Jul 26, 2013 8:49 PM CDT

Former Ballard Spahr chairman Arthur Makadon dies at age 70

Arthur Makadon, who served as chairman of Ballard Spahr from 2002 until 2011, has died at the age of 70. The cause of death was lung cancer, report the Legal Intelligencer and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Makadon learned he was in the late stage of the disease after checking into the…

Jul 25, 2013 4:43 PM CDT

Trial lawyer Hugo L. Black Jr., son of famous US Supreme Court justice, is dead at 91

Hugo L. Black Jr., a longtime trial lawyer and the son of a famous U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Monday at his Florida home. He was 91 years old. Still a practicing lawyer in Coral Gables, Fla., until shortly before his death, Black is survived by two daughters. He was…

Jul 24, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Once-successful prosecutor was brought down by anger over sentence and alcohol, ex-girlfriend said

A drinking problem, financial woes and anger at the Nevada judge who had handed down a prison sentence he considered unfair all may have played a role in the death of a former Clark County prosecutor whose body was discovered in his home—and a note found nearby—last week. Celebrities that…

Jul 22, 2013 9:40 PM CDT

Sheriff wants to probe whether extortion was a factor in judge’s suicide

A Texas sheriff says a Corpus Christi judge who apparently committed suicide last week could have been the victim of extortion or blackmail. Sheriff Jim Kaelin says Judge Tom Greenwell was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt when he killed himself at the Nueces County Courthouse, report Kiii TV,…

Jul 22, 2013 12:18 PM CDT

Parole officers find body of former Paris Hilton prosecutor

Parole officers found the body of former Las Vegas prosecutor David Schubert in his garage on Wednesday after the parolee missed a check-in last week. Schubert, 49, was a former Clark County deputy district attorney who prosecuted Paris Hilton and Bruno Mars, report the Associated Press, the Las Vegas Sun,…

Jul 18, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

Former prosecutor and frequent TV commentator dies in apparent suicide

A former New Jersey prosecutor who made frequent TV appearances as a legal analyst has died at the age of 58 in an apparent suicide. The body of former Bergen County Prosecutor John Fahy was discovered Wednesday under a railroad trestle in East Rutherford, report the Bergen County Record and…

Jul 18, 2013 12:52 PM CDT

Texas judge is found dead from gunshot wound in courthouse

A judge in Corpus Christi, Texas, was discovered dead in his chambers Monday evening, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head. Kii News and KRISTV.com say Judge Tom Greenwell, 57, died in an apparent suicide. Authorities wouldn’t tell the Corpus Christi Caller-Times whether foul play was suspected, but…

Jul 16, 2013 1:33 PM CDT

Former Nixon lawyer Leonard Garment dies at 89

Leonard Garment, a lawyer who advised President Nixon during the Watergate scandal, has died at the age of 89. Garment met Nixon when the two men practiced law together in New York at Mudge, Stern, Williams & Tucker, report the New York Times and the Associated Press. Garment became White…

Jul 16, 2013 12:27 PM CDT

Michigan State Bar’s oldest member dies at 103

John Keusch of Chelsea, Mich., became a lawyer in 1933 when it was difficult to find a job. He lived with his parents for a year and took any cases he could find, according to a 2011 story by the Michigan Bar Journal (PDF) and the Chelsea Standard. He was…

Jun 24, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

Slain lawyer’s daughter says he would have been first to defend teen charged in the killing

A 16-year-old youth has been arrested in the April 15 stabbing deaths of a long-time California lawyer and his wife. The name of the teen, who lives in Davis, has not been released, report CBS13, the Daily Democrat, and the Sacramento Bee. He is a suspect in the deaths of…

Jun 18, 2013 11:46 AM CDT

Dwight Opperman, key figure in Westlaw’s launch in 1970s, dies at age 89

Dwight Opperman, a Drake University law graduate who rose to the top job at West Publishing after starting work there as an editor and was a key figure in the company’s development of the Westlaw online legal research site in the 1970s, died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills,…

Jun 14, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Once-prominent lawyer dies in apparent suicide; body is found as eviction notice is served

A veteran Chicago criminal defense lawyer who took on “impossible cases” has died in an apparent suicide. Police found the body of Rick Halprin, 73, on Tuesday as they were serving an eviction notice, report the Chicago Tribune the Chicago Sun-Times and WLS-TV. He died from a single gunshot to…

Jun 5, 2013 2:39 PM CDT

Jeanne Gray, who oversaw ABA’s Professional Responsibility Center, has died

Jeanne Gray, longtime director of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, died Friday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Gray spent all of her 33 years on the ABA staff at the center. In recent years, she also served as associate executive director for the public services group. The cause…

Apr 24, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

John Sutton, lawyer who drafted ABA’s Model Code, has died

John F. Sutton, a one-time dean at the University of Texas Austin School of Law, FBI special agent and drafter of the ABA’s Model Code of Professional Conduct, has died at age 95. Sutton died Friday of complications due to old age, his family told the Austin American-Statesman. Born in…

Apr 22, 2013 1:25 PM CDT