In Memoriam
Richard Beattie (1939–2025)
Former chair of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and a trailblazing dealmaker in private equity, Richard Beattie was a longtime supporter of several NYU Law–affiliated centers and initiatives, including the Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance, the Law Alumni of Color Association, and the Brennan Center for Justice.
Stuart Berelson (1939–2024)
Stuart Berelson ’62, LLM ’67 served in the US Army as an attorney with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and then as a military police officer in Germany. Specializing in taxation and estate planning, Berelson practiced at Condon & Forsyth. An emeritus trustee of Bucknell University, his alma mater, he established the Berelson Center for Jewish Life at Bucknell.
Jack Berg (1927–2024)
A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, Jack Berg ’58 attended NYU Law at night while working for Continental Grain Company, where he eventually became a vice president. He served as a maritime arbitrator, marking some 885 published awards over his career, and led the Society of Maritime Arbitrators as president.
Bonnie Brower (1943–2024)
A tenacious advocate for affordable housing, Bonnie Brower ’71 was executive director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, an organization of community development and tenant advocacy groups in New York City. Brower took a lead role in many housing battles, including helping defeat a plan to charge low-income tenants near-market prices for turning their buildings into cooperatives.
Samuel Butler (1930–2025)
Presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Samuel Butler LLM ’59 advised on some of the largest M&A deals of the 1980s and 1990s, representing Time Inc. in its merger with Warner Communications, Capital Cities/ABC in its sale to the Walt Disney Company, and Salomon Brothers in its sale to Travelers Group. Among the nonprofits he advised was the New York Public Library, where he was a longstanding board member.
Alvin Y.H. Cheung (1986–2024 )
Alvin Y.H. Cheung LLM ’14, JSD ’20, an assistant professor at the Queen’s University Faculty of Law in Kingston, Ontario, studied how authoritarian regimes abuse legal norms and institutions—in particular, focusing on the suppression of legal and civil rights in Hong Kong. At NYU Law, he was a nonresident affiliated scholar at the US-Asia Law Institute.
Nabil Elaraby (1935–2024)
An arbitrator and diplomat, Nabil Elaraby LLM ’69, JSD ’71 helped broker the resignation of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Spring of 2011. He then served as Egypt’s foreign minister before becoming secretary-general of the Arab League. Earlier, he was a judge at the International Court of Justice, Egypt’s ambassador to India, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN, and a legal advisor to President Anwar Sadat during the Camp David Accords.
Travis Epes (1936–2024)
Travis Epes ’60 practiced tax and securities law at Cahill Gordon & Reindel before joining Consolidated Edison, where he became associate general counsel. At the Law School, Epes was a member of NYU Law Review and the Order of the Coif. He served as the longtime president of Fieldston Property Owners Association.
James Jones IV (1945–2024)
A Root-Tilden Scholar, James Jones IV ’70 was managing partner of Arnold & Porter and a champion of pro bono. After leaving practice, he became chairman and general counsel at APCO Worldwide, held leadership roles at Hildebrandt International, and cofounded the Master’s in Law Firm Management program at George Washington University. From 1996 to 2023, he chaired the Pro Bono Institute, which supports law firms and in-house counsel in developing pro bono programs.
Manuel Klausner (1939–2025)
Manuel Klausner ’62, LLM ’63, a Root-Tilden Scholar, co-founded the Reason Foundation and was editor and publisher of Reason magazine. After decades at Kindel & Anderson, Klausner founded his own firm. Known for his constitutional, election, and media law expertise, he chaired the Federalist Society’s Free Speech & Election Law Practice Group.
David Krupp (1926–2024)
An Army veteran of World War II, David Krupp ’55 practiced corporate litigation, securities law, and First Amendment law as a partner at Krupp & Miller and at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he sang in the Borscht Belt during law school and was a member of NYU Law Review.
Joyce Lowinson (1922–2024)
An innovator in treating opioid addiction, Dr. Joyce Lowinson was a professor of psychiatry and founding director of the Division of Substance Abuse at www.law.nyu.edu/magazine 51 Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as the lead editor of Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook. Her philanthropy helped establish the Joyce Lowinson Scholars Program at the NYU Law Institute for International Law and Justice.
Carie Dawn Martin Jones (1975–2024)
Carie Dawn Martin Jones LLM ’05 launched her legal career at what was then Thompson & Knight in Dallas, focusing on oil and gas litigation and international litigation. While at the firm, she earned her LLM in International Legal Studies at NYU Law. Jones later served as in-house litigation counsel at Chesapeake Energy. She was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales as well as the Texas, Oklahoma, and New York bars.
Vanessa Merton (1949–2024)
Former NYU Law Assistant Professor of Clinical Law Vanessa Merton ’73 was a founding faculty member of CUNY Law School, then joined the faculty of what is now Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law. Founder and director of the Immigration Justice Clinic, Merton served as Haub Law’s associate dean for clinical education and executive director of John Jay Legal Services for 15 years.
Alan Nevas (1928–2025)
Alan Nevas ’51 served as a US district judge for the District of Connecticut from 1985 to 2009. Earlier, he was US attorney in Connecticut, a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and a private practitioner. After retiring from the bench, Judge Nevas worked as an arbitrator and mediator, and chaired the committee that allocated funds to the families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Lester Pollack (1926–2024)
Lester Pollack ’51 worked at the Waltham Shirt Company, a division of Hampton Industries, for more than 50 years. He was a past honoree of the United Jewish Appeal and past president of the Seawane Club in Hewlett, New York.
Marshall Rose (1937–2025)
Real estate developer Marshall Rose ’61 founded the Georgetown Company, which renovated Madison Square Garden and headed the development of the Frank Gehry–designed IAC Building in New York City as well as a wide range of other commercial projects. As a trustee of the New York Public Library, Rose played a major role in restoring both the library’s landmark Fifth Avenue building and nearby Bryant Park.
Blakeney Stafford (1942–2024)
Blakeney Stafford LLM ’74 was one of the four founders of Silicon Valley’s Fenwick & West in 1972. He practiced corporate and securities law, handling M&A and financing deals for many fast-growing technology companies as his law firm grew to become one of the nation’s largest.
Martin Stolar (1943–2024)
President of the New York chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Martin Stolar ’68 represented generations of political activists. Stolar successfully defended anti–Vietnam War activists who raided a draft office, and he organized representation for dozens indicted after the 1971 uprising at Attica Correctional Facility. In 1985, he helped secure a landmark settlement that limited New York City police surveillance of political and religious activity.
Donald Sturm (1932–2024)
After working as a trial attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, Donald Sturm LLM ’60 moved to construction company Peter Kiewit Sons’ (PKS), where he eventually became vice chairman. First at PKS and then as an independent investor, he led numerous acquisitions and founded Colorado’s ANB Bank. In 2004, the University of Denver’s law school was renamed Sturm College of Law in his honor.
Jason Tyler (1983–2025)
Jason Tyler ’11 developed a passion for Delaware law as a clerk at the Delaware Court of Chancery. After working at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell, he joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he became a partner, focusing on complex transactional and corporate governance issues.
Vernon Vig (1937–2025)
Vernon Vig ’62, LLM ’63 studied European law at the University of Paris on a Fulbright fellowship and practiced corporate law in New York, Paris, and Brussels, finishing his career as a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf. A well-known pipe collector, Vig founded the United Pipe Clubs of America and served as the organization’s first president.
Justin Vigdor (1929–2024)
Justin Vigdor LLM ’52, former president of the New York State Bar Association and the New York Bar Foundation, practiced at Boylan Code and Bond, Schoeneck & King in Rochester, New York. Vigdor helped found Rochester institutions such as the Al Sigl Community of Agencies, serving people with special needs, and the Telesca Center for Justice, and he helped launch the New York IOLA Fund, which directs interest on lawyers’ trust accounts to legal services.
