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"In all the history of Proskauer Rose," Walter
Mendelsohn (a former name partner of the Firm) once
said, "there was only one legal genius, and that
was Proskauer. He was the greatest lawyer I ever knew."
Joseph M. Proskauer was born in Mobile, Alabama on
August 6, 1877, a descendant of immigrant merchants
who had settled in Mobile before the Civil War. He arrived
in New York City at the age of 15 to attend Columbia
College, from which he was graduated in 1896. In 1899,
he received his law degree from Columbia Law School,
and formed a partnership with James N. Rosenberg, a
close friend. In 1902, the firm merged into James, Schell
& Elkus, headed by Abram I. Elkus, and later known
as Elkus, Gleason & Proskauer.
Through his association with Elkus, later a judge of
the New York State Court of Appeals, Joseph Proskauer
became acquainted with New York Governor Alfred E. Smith,
and served as his campaign adviser, speechwriter, golfing
partner and friend, until Governor Smith's death in
1944. Proskauer is credited with authoring Franklin
D. Roosevelt's "Happy Warrior" speech, nominating
Governor Smith for the presidency in 1924, and with
assisting the Governor in his fight against religious
bigotry during the 1928 presidential campaign. When
Governor Smith's relationship to President Roosevelt
and the New Deal deteriorated, Proskauer remained loyal
to Smith, whom he called "the best and the wisest
man I ever knew."
"He was the greatest lawyer I
ever knew."
Governor Smith appointed Joseph Proskauer to fill an
unexpired term on the New York State Supreme Court in
June 1923. That November, he was elected to a full term,
and, in 1927, was appointed an associate justice of
the Appellate Division, First Department. Realizing
by late 1929 that "by instinct I was an advocate,"
Judge Proskauer decided to resign from the bench to
return to private practice. He joined the Firm of Rose
& Paskus, renamed Proskauer, Rose & Paskus,
on March 11, 1930, and remained there for the next 40
years.
Judge Proskauer transformed the Firm. "The breadth
of matters that got handled changed," remarked
partner Alfred Appel. Added Walter Mendelsohn, "[Proskauer]
brought in, not only a new level, but the top level
of clientele in this world. He didn't bring them with
him when he came to the Firm. They came after he was
with the Firm." The Judge resisted practicing corporate
law or performing administrative duties preferring to
leave that to other members of the Firm. "You know,"
he told a client, "I only do trial work, I only
handle the trial work."
Among the cases that Judge Proskauer considered his
most significant were the defense of National City Bank
in lawsuits seeking recovery of confiscated assets following
the Russian Revolution; the defense of directors of
the bank as a result of losses incurred in Cuban sugar
investments after World War I; the representation of
the Warner brothers against shareholders who argued
that payments to the brothers were excessive after the
development of talking pictures; the representation
of Lee, Higginson & Company during the International
Match Company frauds; and the Harriman Bank receivership.
Judge Proskauer tried cases into his late 70s, including
the massive Caltex litigation which concerned the sale
of Saudi Arabian oil to European countries under the
Marshall Plan.
Judge Proskauer's philanthropic and civic endeavors
were as notable as his legal career. As president of
the 92nd Street YM-YWHA from 1926 to 1931, he led the
campaign to construct its headquarters building. He
served as president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies
from 1931 to 1935, as a member of the New York City
Charter Revision Commission in 1935 and as chairman
of the New York State Crime Commission from 1951 to
1953. As president of the American Jewish Committee
from 1943 to 1949, he participated in the emotional
debates concerning the establishment of the state of
Israel. Among his proudest achievements was his role
as a consultant to the founding conference of the United
Nations and his contribution to its adoption of the
Declaration of Human Rights.
Judge Proskauer received honorary degrees from numerous
institutions, including Columbia, Dartmouth, Brandeis,
New York University, Colgate and Fordham. At the age
of 94, he died in New York City on September 10, 1971.
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