For 35 years, Bob Laufer was a bankruptcy and litigation attorney with Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison in New York. When he retired in 1999, he went in-house with one of his favorite clients: New York Road Runners. Laufer had worked with the organization extensively beginning in the late 1970s, when thenNYRR president and legendary runner Fred Lebow picked Paul Weiss to be the group’s preferred outside counsel. “When I decided to retire from my law practice, I spoke with Allan Steinfeld [former CEO and president of the NYRR], and I said: ‘We’re leaving you without a lawyer. Why don’t I work as in-house counsel for a year, and if that works out, we’ll extend it another year.’ “
Nearly 13 years later, Laufer, a graduate of Columbia Law School, is still head legal counsel for the NYRR, one of the biggest runners organizations in the country, and the entity behind the iconic New York City Marathon (now known, for sponsorship purposes, as the ING New York City Marathon). With one other attorney, Laufer, 73, handles everything from IP issues to sponsorship contracts to accommodating athletes with disabilities. It’s a lot of work, especially for someone well past retirement age. But it’s also the perfect fit for Laufer, who’s run 17 marathons, and in his heyday hit a personal best of 2:48:06. “They say most lawyers are Type A. I think I proved it with all that mileage,” he says.
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