Steven Polan ’76, a government and regulatory partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, passed away on March 17. A former Hays Fellow, Polan took a leading role in establishing the Sylvia A. Law Fellowship in Economic Justice in the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at NYU Law.
Polan spent the first phase of his career in public service in New York City, initially on the staff of City Council President Carol Bellamy. At the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was general counsel, Polan helped develop the agency’s first five-year capital plan, an important step in the transit system’s turnaround after the declines of the 1970s. From 1990 to 1992, he served as Commissioner of Sanitation of the City of New York, overseeing the implementation of the city’s recycling program.
Polan went to become a partner at Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein and helped lead the firm’s merger with Manatt in 2003. His practice included representing government agencies and private companies in major public infrastructure projects, especially in the transportation, environmental, and information technology areas. He also arbitrated commercial disputes involving public infrastructure projects.
Posted April 20, 2023