Law Grad Who Created Lemonheads and Atomic Fire Balls Dies at 93

A lawyer who made his mark by operating and expanding a candy company founded by his father has died at his home in the Chicago suburbs. Nello Ferrara was 93 years old. Inspired by the shape of his then-newborn son’s head in the early 1960s, he created the company’s well-known…

Feb 10, 2012 4:21 PM CST

Lawyer, 78, Plunges to Death from Chicago Office Building Across from City Hall

A 78-year-old lawyer apparently committed suicide this morning by leaping from an office building across from City Hall. A witness heard glass breaking at the building at 111 W. Washington Street and saw a man jump out of the building at about 7:40 a.m., the Chicago Tribune reports. The unidentified…

Feb 3, 2012 11:22 PM CST

News That Highly Regarded Tenn. Judge Died Unexpectedly Is ‘Like Having the Courthouse Crumble’

A Tennessee court is closed today as a tribute to a highly regarded judge who died unexpectedly this week. Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Bob Moon’s wife of 35 years found him dead early yesterday at home in front of his computer. He apparently had a heart attack, the Chattanooga…

Jan 27, 2012 7:21 PM CST

Wesley Brown, a Kennedy Appointee and Oldest-Sitting Federal Judge, Has Died at 104

Corrected: U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown, who continued working in Wichita until about a month ago, has died. He was 104. Brown died Monday evening at Larksfield Place, where he’d lived for several years, the Wichita Eagle reports. “There comes a time, and he was just ready,” said Judge Monti…

Jan 24, 2012 4:07 PM CST

Former Judge Who Fought Segregation in Brown v. Board of Education Case Dies at 94

A former federal judge who joined Thurgood Marshall in the legal fight to end segregation has died at the age of 94. Robert Carter died Tuesday of complications from a stroke, the New York Times reports. He is best known for his legal arguments in the landmark school desegregation case,…

Jan 4, 2012 1:03 PM CST

Law Profs from Wisconsin, Illinois Die on Christmas Eve

Two law professors noted for their publications have died on Christmas Eve. University of Illinois law professor Larry Ribstein, who wrote for the Truth on the Market blog, died at the age of 65 in Fairfax, Va., the Champaign News-Gazette reports. He has expertise in corporate and securities law. His…

Jan 3, 2012 12:20 PM CST

Law Student Snags Potter Stewart’s Briefcase in Estate Sale of Late Justice’s Belongings

Law student Adam Fernandez plans to carry Potter Stewart’s briefcase when he becomes a lawyer. Fernandez, 29, was among the shoppers at an estate sale Saturday at the home of the late Justice Potter Stewart in Northwest Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports. “I’m a law student here in D.C.,”…

Dec 5, 2011 12:41 PM CST

Longest Serving U.S. Prosecutor Dies at 89, a Year After His Retirement

Correction: A Justice Department lawyer who was the longest-serving federal prosecutor in U.S. history has died at the age of 89. John “Jack” Keeney retired last year after working for the Justice Department for 59 years, the Washington Post reports. Keeney worked on organized crime cases under Attorney General Robert…

Nov 22, 2011 4:57 PM CST

Did Overwork Kill Skadden Associate? Inconclusive Autopsy Points to Cardiac Issues

When a 32-year-old associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was found dead at her California home in June, blogs reported she was putting in long hours and appeared to be under pressure before she died. The death of associate Lisa Johnstone spurred other lawyers “to assess their lives…

Nov 16, 2011 1:41 PM CST

Peter Mullen, Skadden Partner Who Built Megafirm With Joseph Flom, Is Dead of Heart Attack at 83

Peter Mullen, a New York lawyer who worked with Joseph H. Flom for many years to build Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom into a powerhouse megafirm, died Saturday of a heart attack. He was 83 years old. When Mullen joined Skadden in 1961, after being refused a partnership at…

Oct 20, 2011 12:30 AM CDT

New York Lawyer Dead, Along with Wife and 2 Kids, in Reported Murder-Suicide at Their Home

A New York attorney in a troubled marriage reportedly beat his wife to death with a furniture leg and then fatally shot their two children in bed before committing suicide in the basement of their Westchester home. Samuel Friedlander, 50, and his wife, Amy, 46, were in the process of…

Oct 19, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

A Protesting Pioneer of Critical Race Theory, Derrick Bell, Dies at the Age of 80

New York University law professor Derrick Bell, a pioneer of critical race theory, has died of carcinoid cancer at the age of 80. Bell was the first tenured black law professor at Harvard Law School and the first black law dean of a law school that is not historically black,…

Oct 6, 2011 11:52 AM CDT

Initially Thought a Suicide, Attorney’s Death Is Now Being Investigated as a Possible Homicide

A 66-year-old lawyer found dead at his Jupiter, Fla., home on Friday morning was initially thought to be a suicide. But now police are investigating the shooting death of Lanny A. Horwitz as a possible homicide, reports the Palm Beach Post. Horwitz was a law graduate of the State University…

Oct 3, 2011 9:16 PM CDT

Past ABA President Jerome Shestack Dies; Widely Known for Human Rights Work

Oct 1, 2011 6:40 AM CDT

9th Circuit Judge Pamela Rymer Dies

Corrected: Judge Pamela Rymer of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has died. Rymer, 70, died after battling cancer, report the Associated Press and the Recorder. She continued to work after her diagnosis in 2009 and last heard oral arguments in July. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski praised…

Sep 23, 2011 10:52 AM CDT