NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOICIATION JOURNAL -- SEPTEMBER 2000
May it Please the Court! by
Leonard Rivkin with Jeffrey
Silberfeld, published by Car-
olina Academic Press, Durham, N.C.
(www.cap-press.com), 2000, 437 pages,
$30, hardcover. Reviewed by Ellin M.Mulholland.
As one century ends and another
begins, the legal literature now includes the professional autobiography
of a lawyer whose career spanned the
last half of the 20th century.
May it Please the Court! written by
Leonard Rivkin with his law partner,
Jeffrey Silberfeld, details the life in the
law of the founding partner of the firm
now known as Rivkin, Radler & Kremer. Its main office is now in Union-
dale on Long Island.
The book is a fascinating work — far
more gripping than the countless legal
novels that line the shelves of libraries
and far more instructive than the "how
to" manuals that are offered as part of
the continuing legal education courses
now mandated for practicing attorneys in New York State.
From humble beginnings in the 10-
feet-deep back room of a storefront office in Freeport to 94,000 square feet on
three floors in a magnificent office
complex in Uniondale, Leonard Rivkin’s practice has increased and multi-
plied. Initially, he represented plain-
tiffs, injured parties on whose behalf
he brought lawsuits. As time went by,
he was retained by defendants, corpo-
rations, global manufacturers, banks
and insurance companies against
whom lawsuits were brought.
Above all, Leonard Rivkin reveals
himself as a litigator, a real-life trial
lawyer who handled, tried and settled
some of the most significant lawsuits
of the past 50 years.
Does May it Please the Court! explain
the autobiographer’s huge success in
the law? The answer is yes.
In this autobiography we meet a
lawyer of immense dedication and unwavering determination. We observe a
man sure of his talent and unafraid to
expend the hours, days, months and
sometimes years needed to learn the
intricacies of his clients’ cases and to
represent their interests to the best of
his ability. Although Leonard Rivkin is
now retired from the active practice of
law, we see that he still follows his own
superb advice — he markets the firm
that bears his name and he extols the
advantages of a firm able to represent
clients in litigation on a national basis.
Proud of his accomplishments as
only a lawyer who has achieved the
preeminence of the author should be,
Leonard Rivkin does not hesitate to
share with his readers the pain of a ju-
dicial inquiry into his practice, or the
joy when all charges against him were
dismissed by New York’s highest
court, the Court of Appeals. He also
admits that, like every lawyer who
ever practiced, he did not win the
hand of every prospective client he
courted.
In this candid autobiography,
Leonard Rivkin’s love of and respect
for the law shines forth. Fortunately,
his unremitting hard work was rewarded by the great satisfaction and
fun he enjoyed. Throughout, the au-
thors memorialize and provide insights into some of the most fiercely
contested and difficult civil lawsuits of
the last century: the Staten Island gas
tank disaster, the bank failure of
Franklin National, the Agent Orange
herbicide used in the Vietnam War,
and the controversies concerning envi-
ronmental and hazardous waste insur-
ance coverage.
May it Please the Court! does please,
and should please not only the courts
and practitioners of the law but also
anyone interested in reading the
history of American civil law and the
life of a lawyer of “grace, charm and
class,” as Leonard Rivkin was de
scribed by Victor Yannacone, one of his
adversaries in the Agent Orange litigation.
ELLIN M. MULHOLLAND was for many
years a trial lawyer with Herzfeld &
Rubin, P.C., in New York.
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May it Please the Court! From Agent Orange to Auto Accidents: Building a Storefront Law Practice into America's Largest Suburban Law Firm
April 2000,
444 pp,
jacketed hardcover,
ISBN 0-89089-915-0
Price: $30.00
These three online sources offer substantial discounts over retail.
Table of Contents:
Introduction - page 3 Part One -- The Early Years Chapter One
But Dad, I Don't Want to Be a Doctor - page 11 Chapter Two
Leonard L. Rivkin: Attorney-at-Law - page 23 Chapter Three
The Tote Board, Life with Johnny, and
Other Early Tales - page 41 Chapter Four
The Judicial Inquiry - page 55 Chapter Five
Crossing the Street: Representing Defendants - page 71 Part Two -- Major Clients, Major Cases Chapter Six
The First Dow Case - page 89 Chapter Seven
The Staten Island Gas Tank Disaster - page 99 Chapter Eight
Franklin National Bank - page 141 Part Three -- Agent Orange Chapter Nine
Not Your Typical Garden Variety Lawsuit - page 203 Chapter Ten
Litigation Strategy - page 233 Chapter Eleven
Litigation Chronology - page 247 Chapter Twelve
Settlement - page 303 Part Four -- New Partners, New Offices Chapter Thirteen
Garden City: Transformation, Emergence,
and Growth - page 347 Chapter Fourteen
Chicago and Washington - page 391 Chapter Fifteen
EAB Plaza - page 407 Sources and Footnotes - page 417 Index - page 429
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