Louis D. Brandeis Law Society

Dear Member:

Since I last wrote to you in May, several things have taken place in our organization.  After our very successful day of service at the People’s Emergency Center, in memory of member Stuart Agins, the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society was a major planner and participant of Jewish Law Day, featuring Justice Max Baer as the guest speaker. The event co-chairs of the day were Madam Justice Sandra Shultz Newman and Rabbi David Straus. Brandeis Law Society member Mel Shralow deserves our congratulations for serving as chair of the Jewish Law Day Committee for the last two years and keeping us all organized and focused.

Judge Abraham Gafni taught us about Jewish Business Ethics on June 9, 2004 at the Hyatt at the Bellevue.  We acknowledge and thank Harris Bock and ADR for facilitating CLE credit for our members and Ed Chacker for planning the event.

Over the summer we had our regularly scheduled meetings and have welcomed several new members:

Please join me in wishing them a warm welcome.  I hope that you will encourage your colleagues and friends to become members.  By the way, we now have both student and government employee memberships which make membership more accessible than ever.   Applications can be downloaded from our web site.

We have formulated and implemented our charitable giving guidelines and in addition to supporting Jewish Law Day, we have supported the Philadelphia Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division fundraiser “Boo at the Zoo,” (which supports the Philadelphia Bar Foundation),  VIP’s “Picnic in the Park” on September 19, 2004, and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.  I am so proud that charitable giving was felt to be an integral part of our identity. 

Mayer Horwitz has formed a committee to commission a portrait of the late Hon. I. Raymond Kremer as a tribute to his contribution to the bench and bar.

This past September 26, 2004 we organized a “Day in New York,” which included brunch at trendy Jane Restaurant and then prime orchestra seats to see Golda’s Balcony.  Special thanks to Lou Podel and Michael Berkowitz for planning the day.  Photographs of our outing are posted on our web site.

Brandeis Law Society members were out in force at the Jerusalem Boys’ Town event on October 20, 2004, at the Union League honoring member Harris Bock and his wife, Phyllis.

We are busy planning several CLE courses for our membership.  Suggested topics are Bankruptcy for general practitioners, a joint program with the Brehons and the Justinians, and an ethics seminar with Professor Melvin Urofsky, of Virginia Commonwealth University, who is the premier historian of the Hon. Louis D. Brandeis.

Our Transition Task Force, ably led by our Vice Chancellor, Michael Berkowitz, has very industriously reviewed new by-laws for us to adopt, as well as new banners, pins and membership certificates. They have also taken on the responsibility of suggesting policy for the organization. Special thanks to Larry Beaser and Lisa Washington for their work in drafting our new by-laws. 

We wish the following members speedy and complete recoveries:

Murray Shusterman

Mayer Horwitz

Sy Kivitz

We wish to congratulate the following members: 

• Harris Bock and Phyllis Bock as honorees at the recent Boys Town Jerusalem fundraiser; 

• Sayde Ladov and the Women in the Profession for their presentation of “Women of Distinction” on July 17, 2004;

• Harris Bock and Hon. Abe Gafni, co-chairs of Jewish Law Day, 2005

If you know of other Brandeis members receiving honors, awards, or appointments of note please let me know and I will make sure that they are listed on our web site and will include them in my next newsletter.

All of the above indicates how much we are dedicated to making this organization one that is relevant for all Jewish Philadelphia area lawyers and Judges.    

Please join us on December 14, 2004, when we will celebrate the holiday season with what we hope will be our annual Hanukah Extravaganza.  This year’s event will be of special significance since we will formally induct all of our members into Brandeis Law Society, and bestow our Benjamin F. Levy Community Service Award on Larry Beaser.  Invitations will follow shortly.  I look forward to seeing you there for latkes and caviar, among other things.

If you are interested in serving on any of our committees, please contact me at anne.lazarus@brandeislawsociety.org.    

My sincere best wishes for a happy and safe Thanksgiving with your families.

Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, the Jewish law society, is dedicated to advancing and enriching the personal and professional interests of our members of the Bench and Bar.  We promote opportunities for leadership development, social interaction, education and community service.