The former New Haven public defender and Connecticut Law Tribune editorial board member who died in a tragic hiking accident last Friday in New York has been described as a strong mentor and “righteous but never self-righteous” steward of the law.

Thomas Ullmann had been hiking in New York’s Adirondack Mountains when he took a fatal fall into a ravine, numerous sources said. The 67-year-old outdoor enthusiast had recently retired in August 2017, but had remained a visiting clinical lecturer at Yale Law School and a member of this publication’s advisory editorial board.