Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison partner Mordie Rochlin, one of the oldest men in the United States, is convinced that the only reason he made it to the age of 107 is that he never left the firm that he retired from decades ago.

"Without the firm, I would have probably shriveled up somewhere in a nursing home and have long been put away," he said as chairman Brad Karp and other guests listened intently.

"He has been a vibrant part of the firm for the past 37 years since his retirement," Karp said. "Mordie continued to work for clients; he continued to come to the firm daily; he continued to attend partner meetings. I believe the firm, and its partners, have been Mordie's extended family for decades."

Rochlin has been with Paul Weiss for 83 years and with the New York State Bar Association for almost as long—he joined NYSBA on Jan. 1, 1939, eight months before the outbreak of World War II. In appreciation of his years of dedication, the association presented the trusts and estates lawyer with a special commendation and gift Dec. 5, his birthday.

Rochlin was grateful but did acknowledge he might have fallen a bit behind on the dues he owed after the age of 90. All arrears were immediately erased for the association's most senior member as of his 107th birthday.

Rochlin appears to be about the 20th oldest man in the country, Karp said. According to the Gerontology Research Group, which keeps track of supercentenarians starting at age 110, there are only two men in the United States who are 110, and none are older.

No group tracks people under the age of 110, but unofficial lists show a few dozen U.S. men who are between the ages of 106 and 109. Many of them are no longer alive, though, according to research done by Paul Weiss.

One thing is certain. Rochlin is the only person alive who knew all five Paul Weiss name partners. Guests at his party listened in rapt attention as he described the meeting that took place at the Gramercy Park Hotel after the death in 1950 of name partner Louis Weiss. Weiss, Marshall Field's attorney, was the firm's biggest rainmaker.

After Weiss' death, Randolph Paul, who was based in D.C., traveled to New York City to discuss the firm's future. Rochlin, who had been named partner but wouldn't ascend to the partnership until 1951, was summoned to the meeting by an early-morning phone call but had to sit on the floor of the crowded hotel room. It seems unimaginable now, but the firm was small enough then for its partners—there were fewer than a dozen—to meet in a hotel room.

"The first question to be decided was are we going to remain as a firm despite the enormous loss of Louis Weiss," Rochlin said.

Former U.S. District Judge Simon H. Rifkind of the Southern District of New York, who had joined the firm earlier in 1950, was convinced that he and the other partners could keep the firm going. Of course, he turned out to be right: Paul Weiss, with more than 1,000 lawyers today, generates $5 million per partner in profits.

"It was a tremendous event in my life and the life of the firm," Rochlin said.

Rochlin, who still lives in a private residence in Murray Hill with the help of a caregiver, is extremely grateful that he happened to land a job at Cohen, Cole, Weiss & Wharton, the predecessor to Paul Weiss. He said he felt like he had won the lottery when his name was printed in gold leaf on the door of the firm, which was then at 61 Broadway.

Now, 83 years later, the Wall Street firm is on Sixth Avenue. But some things never change. Rochlin still has an office on the 32nd floor. And while his assistant more often comes to work with him at his residence, Rochlin still finds his way back to the firm. As a matter of fact, he was there Monday giving out gifts for the holidays.

Former New York Law Journal Deputy Editor-in-Chief SUSAN DESANTIS is chief communications strategist for the New York State Bar Association.

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Paul Weiss Partner, Who Retired 35 Years Ago, Still Works in Office at Age 106