May It Please the Court!
From Auto Accidents to Agent Orange:
Building a Storefront Law Practice into
America's Largest Suburban Law Firm
Leonard Rivkin
with Jeffrey Silberfeld
Carolina Academic Press
Durham, North Carolina
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INTRODUCTION
In March of 1950, less than two years after graduating from the University of Virginia Law
School, I opened up a one man law practice in the back of a storefront insurance brokerage office in
the quiet, mostly residential village of Freeport, Long Island. My clients were relatives, friends, and
neighbors. I wrote wills, handled real estate closings, and litigated relatively uncomplicated
automobile accident and slip and fall cases. My first partner, who joined me in 1953, was my
landlord's brother.
Thirty five years later, I was the senior partner of Rivkin, Radler, Dunne & Bayh, a nationally
prominent law firm employing nearly 250 attorneys in five offices in three states and the District of
Columbia. Our main office occupied three entire floors, more than 90,000 square feet, at EAB Plaza,
Long Island's most prestigious business address. We also occupied smaller but no less impressive
quarters on Madison Avenue in New York City, on "I" Street in Washington, D.C., on LaSalle Street
in Chicago, and in Century City in Los Angeles. My clients included Fortune 500 corporations and
insurance companies embroiled in complex, multi-million dollar litigation. I defended Dow Chemical
in the Agent Orange case, one of the largest product liability class action in American legal history;
Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in the Franklin National Bank case, which involved the largest
bank failure in United States history; Pittsburgh Coming Corporation in asbestos litigation, involving
one of the most lethal products in American legal history; and Aegis Insurance Company in the Texas
Eastern interstate pipeline litigation, which resulted in one of the costliest environmental cleanups in
United States history. My partners included state legislators, a future New York State Supreme
Court judge, a former law school dean, the future Chief of the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice, and even a former United States Senator who twice sought his party's
nomination for President.
What a long and improbable journey! From solo practitioner to senior partner. From auto
accidents to Agent Orange. From Village Court in Freeport to federal courts throughout the country
to the Supreme Court of the United States.
How did I do it?
How did I build a sing storefront law practice into the largest suburban law firm in the country?
How did I successfully litigate not just headline grabbing, precedent setting cases but routine matters as well?
With a lot of hard work.
With a little bit of luck.
With a lot of help from family, friends, partners, and clients.
With a uniquely aggressive and creative approach to business development and litigation strategy.
The essence of that approach: Take the initiative.
In other words, do not sit on your hands waiting for something to happen; make it happen.
Do not react to your adversary; make him react to you. Even when representing a defendant, do not
be lulled into doing nothing more than responding to plaintiffs claims and parrying his thrusts.
Instead, take the initiative. Wrest control of the case from the plaintiff for example, by aggressively
pursuing affirmative defenses and third-party claims.
Take the initiative. This approach is not just a litigation tactic; it is a surefire way to develop
and expand a law practice. Clients do not materialize in an attorney's office out of thin air. They will
not find you unless you find them first. This requires you to market yourself and your talents. Join
professional associations. Attend seminars. Publish articles. Make inquiries. Write letters. Use the
telephone. Circulate. Take the initiative.
* * *
This book is my professional autobiography. Organized chronologically, it tells the story of
how I became an attorney, started and developed my practice, and litigated my cases, taking the
initiative every step of the way.
Part One, "The Early Years," covers my childhood, education, military service, and the first
twenty years of my legal career: working at my first job at a two man firm in Brooklyn, going out
on my own in Freeport, developing an expertise representing plaintiffs in personal injury litigation,
acquiring my first insurance company clients, and shifting the emphasis of my practice from plaintiffs
work to defense. The focus of this section is on practice development; during this period, I
aggressively sought new business and succeeded in expanding the size of my law firm from one
attorney to ten.
Part Two, "Major Clients, Major Cases," covers my entry into the arena of big time clients
and big time litigation. After describing how I acquired The Dow Chemical Company and the Home
Office of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company as clients, this section discusses at length my
involvement on behalf of Dow and Fireman's Fund in a series of increasingly complex lawsuits,
including the Staten Island natural gas tank explosion and Franklin National Bank. Unlike Part One,
which focuses on practice development, this section focuses on litigation skills, tactics, and strategy.
But there is a marketing lesson in this section as well; writing letters and making telephone calls may
open doors for you, but don't count on attracting many new clients unless you can demonstrate that
you achieved great results for your old ones.
Part Three, "Agent Orange," chronicles my involvement on behalf of Dow Chemical in one
of the most extraordinary cases of our time. Broken down into four chapters, this section details the
unprecedented size and scope of the litigation, discusses our litigation strategy, presents a litigation
chronology, and describes the intense, round-the-clock, last minute settlement negotiations. As the
section makes clear, Agent Orange is a case that contains a lifetime of litigation experiences and is
one that refuses to go away. The first Agent Orange lawsuit was filed in 1978; as this book goes to
press, my firm is still litigating Agent Orange matters. Without a doubt, the Agent Orange litigation
was the highlight of my legal career. It's a safe bet that every one of the dozens of lead attorneys
who worked on the case would undoubtedly say the same thing.
Part Four, "New Partners, New Offices," describes the explosive growth of my firm from ten
to 250 lawyers and its transformation from local to national prominence. Here, as in Part One,
although there are brief discussions of important clients and case, the focus is on practice
development. I have always believed that big firms should market themselves as aggressively as sole
practitioners; this section describes efforts by me and my partners to maintain our existing clients and
attract new ones.
Although the four sections of the book cover different time frames and different subjects, they
have much in common. Each contains countless episodes of aggressive and creative lawyering. Each
describes numerous innovative and resourceful methods of attracting and keeping clients. Thus, the
book should prove to be a valuable reference tool for young lawyers starting out on their own looking
to develop their litigation and marketing skills.
But this is more than a "how to" book for young lawyers. It describes the extraordinary
transformation and growth of a law practice. It peeks behind the scenes at Agent Orange, Franklin
National Bank, and other compelling cases. It paints a vivid picture of what it's like to litigate routine
traffic accident cases and headline-grabbing class actions: the pressure, the suspense, the unexpected
twists, the humor, the elation, and the despair. It takes you into the conference room, not just the
courtroom. It gives you the reasons, not just the results. I would think, therefore, that this is a book
that will entertain and enlighten both lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
* * *
Before I begin, I must include a word of acknowledgment to the family, friends, partners, and
clients who helped me along the way. Obviously, I couldn't have done it alone and owe a debt of
gratitude to many people. The following deserve special mention:
My parents, especially my father, who may have been chagrined by his son's decision to
become a lawyer but ultimately took great pride in his son's achievements.
Lenore, my first wife of 37 years, who encouraged me through the lean years and shared in
my later success. Lenore was a loving and supportive wife and mother who was equally at home
helping our children with their homework and socializing with an important client. The whole family
suffered a great loss when Lenore died of cancer after a long and courageous struggle.
Betty, my second wife, whom I married in 1987. I had known Betty for nearly 50 years; her
late first husband was Lenore's first cousin. Betty was born wise, gentle, and insightful. She has
complimented me in every way that matters. She brought balance, strength, and happiness to my life
at a time when I most needed it.
My children, John and Janet, who endured the demands of my profession when they were
growing up and have always brought great joy to me. John became a lawyer like his father and is
now a senior partner at the firm. Janet became a lawyer to please her father but is now a practicing
clinical psychologist.
My partners: Victor Leff, Stu Sherman, Phil Weinberg, John Dunne, Jeff Silberfeld, Warren
Radler, Ed Hart, and Birch Bayh.
And my clients: Bob Bud of Fireman's Fund; Don Frayer, Charley Carey, Wayne Hancock, and Keith McKennon
of Dow; and Bill Bailey and Dick Jordan of Commercial Union.
* * *
Finally, a quick word about the title: "May It Please the Court!"
As a neophyte attorney, I litigated my first cases in Freeport Village Court, gradually moving
my way up to the local county, state, and federal courts on Long Island and in Brooklyn and
Manhattan. Later, as my firm expanded and developed a national presence, I litigated cases in state
and federal courts around the country, some quite well known, and certainly not because of me or
any of my cases: the state courthouse in New Jersey where the Lindbergh kidnapping case was tried;
the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City that was tragically bombed in 19 the state courthouse
in San Rafael, California, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; and, of course, the most famous
courthouse of them all, the United States Supreme Court.
Almost from day one, whenever I appeared in court, no matter where and no matter what the
occasion, I always began my presentation with the same words: "May it please the court." When I
was a young attorney practicing on Long Island, it seemed to me that all of the prominent local trial
and appellate lawyers did the same Thing. It sounded dignified and professional, so I followed suit.
Later on, as a younger generation of trial attorneys came onto the scene, many of them adopted a
more informal style. They began their presentations with a simple "Good Morning, Your Honor" or
something very similar. Sometimes they just started right in on their argument. But I never changed
my style. I was saying "May it please the court" in 1950 and was still saying it thirty five years later.
to chapter 1....
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