Henry Friendly
Encyclopedia
Henry Jacob Friendly was a prominent judge
in the United States, who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
from 1959 through 1974 (including service as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1973) and in senior status
until his death by suicide
in 1986.
in 1923 and received his law degree from Harvard Law School
in 1927. It is widely rumored that Friendly graduated with the highest grade point average ever attained (before or since) at Harvard Law School, but confirmation of this claim is difficult to find, and the claim is sometimes also made for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis
and Felix Frankfurter
. Frankfurter, while still a professor at Harvard Law School, sent his student to work as a clerk for Justice Louis D. Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court. Friendly then entered private practice in New York City
from 1928 to 1959, and was a founding partner of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
. He served as Vice President and General Counsel of Pan American World Airways
in New York City from 1946 to 1959, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
in 1977.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
to a seat on the Second Circuit vacated by Harold Raymond Medina. Friendly's appointment had been endorsed on the basis of merit by several prominent judges and lawyers, including Judge Learned Hand
.
Judge Friendly was confirmed by the United States Senate
on September 9, 1959, and received his commission the next day. He served as the Chief Judge
of the Second Circuit from 1971 to 1973.
Friendly's opinions for the Second Circuit were considered scholarly and of superior quality; many are still cited today, particularly in the field of securities law.
, Warren E. Burger
, said, "In my 30 years on the bench, I have never known a judge more qualified to sit on the Supreme Court."
At the same ceremony, Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall
called Judge Friendly "a man of the law."
In a letter to the editor of The New York Times
following Judge Friendly's obituary, Judge Jon O. Newman
called Judge Friendly "quite simply the pre-eminent appellate judge of his era " who "authored the definitive opinions for the nation in each area of the law that he had occasion to consider."
In a statement after Judge Friendly's death, Judge Wilfred Feinberg
, the 2nd Circuit's Chief Judge at the time, called Judge Friendly "one of the greatest Federal judges in the history of the Federal bench."
Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, described Judge Friendly as "the most distinguished judge in this country during his years on the bench."
Harvard Law School
has a professorship named after Judge Friendly. Paul C. Weiler, a Canadian constitutional law scholar, held it from 1993 to 2006; William J. Stuntz, a scholar of criminal law and procedure, held it from 2006 until his death in March 2011.
The Federal Bar Council
awarded Judge Friendly a Certificate of Distinguished Judicial Service posthumously in 1986.
The American Law Institute
has an award named in memory of Judge Friendly and endowed by his former law clerks.
.
Judge Friendly was survived at his death by son David S. Friendly and two daughters, Joan Goodman and Ellen Simon, and 11 grandchildren.
Joan Friendly Goodman is a Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania
and is married to Prof. Frank Goodman of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
, an administrative law and federal courts expert.
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
in the United States, who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
from 1959 through 1974 (including service as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1973) and in senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
until his death by suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1986.
Before the bench
Judge Friendly graduated from Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1923 and received his law degree from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1927. It is widely rumored that Friendly graduated with the highest grade point average ever attained (before or since) at Harvard Law School, but confirmation of this claim is difficult to find, and the claim is sometimes also made for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
and Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
. Frankfurter, while still a professor at Harvard Law School, sent his student to work as a clerk for Justice Louis D. Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court. Friendly then entered private practice in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1928 to 1959, and was a founding partner of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is an international law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. The firm currently has offices in Washington DC, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Rome, Milan, Brussels, Moscow, Frankfurt, Cologne, Paris, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. It employs over...
. He served as Vice President and General Counsel of Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
in New York City from 1946 to 1959, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
in 1977.
Judicial service
Friendly was appointed by PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
to a seat on the Second Circuit vacated by Harold Raymond Medina. Friendly's appointment had been endorsed on the basis of merit by several prominent judges and lawyers, including Judge Learned Hand
Learned Hand
Billings Learned Hand was a United States judge and judicial philosopher. He served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
.
Judge Friendly was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on September 9, 1959, and received his commission the next day. He served as the Chief Judge
Chief judge
Chief Judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another...
of the Second Circuit from 1971 to 1973.
Friendly's opinions for the Second Circuit were considered scholarly and of superior quality; many are still cited today, particularly in the field of securities law.
Death
Judge Friendly took his own life at age 82 on March 11, 1986 in his Park Avenue apartment in New York City. Police said they found three notes in the apartment, one addressed to his resident maid and two unaddressed notes. In all three notes, the judge talked about his distress at his wife's death, his declining health and his failing eyesight, according to a police spokesman. His wife, the former Sophine S. Stern, had died a year and four days earlier. They had been married for 55 years.Legacy
In a ceremony following Judge Friendly's death, Chief Justice of the United StatesChief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
, Warren E. Burger
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger was the 15th Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger had conservative leanings, the U.S...
, said, "In my 30 years on the bench, I have never known a judge more qualified to sit on the Supreme Court."
At the same ceremony, Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
called Judge Friendly "a man of the law."
In a letter to the editor of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
following Judge Friendly's obituary, Judge Jon O. Newman
Jon O. Newman
Jon O. Newman is an United States federal judge. He has served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 1979.-Education and legal training:...
called Judge Friendly "quite simply the pre-eminent appellate judge of his era " who "authored the definitive opinions for the nation in each area of the law that he had occasion to consider."
In a statement after Judge Friendly's death, Judge Wilfred Feinberg
Wilfred Feinberg
Wilfred Feinberg is a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was Chief Judge of the Circuit from 1980 to 1988, and assumed senior status in 1991...
, the 2nd Circuit's Chief Judge at the time, called Judge Friendly "one of the greatest Federal judges in the history of the Federal bench."
Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, described Judge Friendly as "the most distinguished judge in this country during his years on the bench."
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
has a professorship named after Judge Friendly. Paul C. Weiler, a Canadian constitutional law scholar, held it from 1993 to 2006; William J. Stuntz, a scholar of criminal law and procedure, held it from 2006 until his death in March 2011.
The Federal Bar Council
Federal Bar Council
The Federal Bar Council is an organization of lawyers who practice in federal courts within the Second Circuit. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in federal practice and fellowship among federal practitioners...
awarded Judge Friendly a Certificate of Distinguished Judicial Service posthumously in 1986.
The American Law Institute
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...
has an award named in memory of Judge Friendly and endowed by his former law clerks.
Notable former Law clerks
- David P. CurrieDavid P. CurrieDavid P. Currie was the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, noted for his histories of the Constitution in Congress and the Supreme Court, his casebooks on federal courts and conflict of laws, and his award-winning teaching at the Law School. He was the son...
(1960–1961), Edward H. LeviEdward H. LeviEdward Hirsch Levi was an American academic leader, scholar, and statesman who served as United States Attorney General. He is regularly cited as the "model of a modern attorney general," the "greatest lawyer of his time," and considered, along with Yale's Whitney Griswold, the greatest of...
Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Chicago Law SchoolThe University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S... - Peter B. Edelman (1961–1962), Professor of Law & Co-Director, Joint Degree in Law and Public Policy, Georgetown Law Center
- Stephen R. Barnett (1962–1963), Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt Professor of Law, Emeritus, Boalt Hall, University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
- Pierre N. LevalPierre N. LevalPierre Nelson Leval is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the time of his appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993, he was a United States District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York....
(1963–1964), Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - Michael BoudinMichael BoudinMichael Boudin is a Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.Boudin was born in New York City, the son of the civil liberties attorney Leonard Boudin and older brother of Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin. He received a B.A. from Harvard...
(1964–1965), Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - Bruce A. Ackerman (1967–1968), Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale Law SchoolYale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
- Arthur Raymond RandolphArthur Raymond RandolphArthur Raymond Randolph is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was appointed to the Court in 1990 and assumed senior status on November 1, 2008.-Biography:...
(1969–1970), Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - Walter Hellerstein (1970–1971), Francis Shackleford Distinguished Professor of Taxation Law, University of Georgia School of LawUniversity of Georgia School of LawThe University of Georgia School of Law is a graduate school of the University of Georgia. Founded in 1859 and located in Athens, Georgia, USA, Georgia Law was formerly known as the Lumpkin School of Law. The Law School is the second oldest of the University's schools and colleges. The University...
- Martin Glenn (1971–1972), Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
- Lawrence B. Pedowitz (1972–1973), Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a prominent law firm located in New York City. Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz founded the firm in 1965. All four were graduates of New York University School of Law...
- Frederick T. Davis (1972–1973), Partner, Litigation Department, Debevoise & PlimptonDebevoise & PlimptonDebevoise & Plimpton LLP is a prominent international law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, Debevoise has been a long established leader in corporate litigation and large financial transactions. In recent years, its practice has taken on an...
LLP, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... - William Curtis BrysonWilliam Curtis BrysonWilliam C. Bryson is a United States federal judge sitting on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit....
(1973–1974), Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - James R. Smoot (1974–1975), Dean & Professor of Law, Cecil C. Humphreys School of LawCecil C. Humphreys School of LawThe University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's formation in 1962. The school was named in honor of...
, The University of Memphis - Philip BobbittPhilip BobbittPhilip Chase Bobbitt is an American author, academic, and public servant who has lectured in the United Kingdom. He is best known for work on military strategy and constitutional law and theory, and as the author of Constitutional Fate: Theory of the Constitution , The Shield of Achilles: War,...
(1975–1976), Thomas M. Macioce Professor of Law, Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in... - Ruth WedgwoodRuth WedgwoodRuth N. Wedgwood is an American law professor who holds the Edward B. Burling Chair in International Law and Diplomacy at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, D.C.- Family origins :...
(1976–1977), Edward B. BurlingEdward B. BurlingEdward Burnham Burling was a prominent American lawyer and the name partner of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Covington & Burling. He grew up in Eldora, Iowa and worked in a grocery store at age eleven, and went on to Grinnell College and then to Harvard Law School...
Professor of International Law and Diplomacy & Director of the International Law and Organization Program, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International StudiesPaul H. Nitze School of Advanced International StudiesThe Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
(SAISSAISSAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
) of Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
; Member, United Nations Human Rights Committee - Theodore N. Mirvis (1976–1977), Partner, Litigation Department, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a prominent law firm located in New York City. Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz founded the firm in 1965. All four were graduates of New York University School of Law...
- Merrick B. GarlandMerrick B. GarlandMerrick Brian Garland is an American federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
(1977–1978), Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - Mary I. Coombs (1978–1979), Professor of Law, University of Miami School of LawUniversity of Miami School of LawThe University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is the law school of the University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. The school graduated its first class of 13 students in 1929.- Academics :...
- John G. Roberts, Jr. (1979–1980), Chief Justice of the United StatesChief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
- Marc Wolinsky (1980–1981),Partner, Litigation Department, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a prominent law firm located in New York City. Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz founded the firm in 1965. All four were graduates of New York University School of Law...
- Gary BornGary BornGary B. Born is an international lawyer and academic. He is chair of the International Arbitration and International litigation practices at the international law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and the author of a number of commentaries, casebooks and other works on international...
(1981-1982), Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and DorrWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and DorrWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, which also goes by the shorter market name WilmerHale, is an American law firm with twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston-based firm Hale and Dorr and the Washington-based firm Wilmer Cutler... - Jonathan R. MaceyJonathan R. MaceyJonathan R. Macey is Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance and Securities Law at Yale Law School.-Biography:Professor Macey earned his B.A. from Harvard University in 1977, and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1982, where he was Article and Book Review editor of the Yale Law...
(1982–1983), Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance and Securities Law, Yale Law School - Larry D. Kramer (1984–1985), Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean, Stanford Law SchoolStanford Law SchoolStanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
- Thomas G. Dagger (1986) of AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Family
Judge Friendly's wife of 55 years, Sophine S. Stern, died a year before his suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Judge Friendly was survived at his death by son David S. Friendly and two daughters, Joan Goodman and Ellen Simon, and 11 grandchildren.
Joan Friendly Goodman is a Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and is married to Prof. Frank Goodman of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Law School, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the Ivy League, it is among the oldest and most selective law schools in the nation. It is currently ranked 7th overall by U.S. News & World Report,...
, an administrative law and federal courts expert.