How many senior trial partners in their prime willingly hand off to a junior partner with limited experience the prosecution of a multimillion-dollar jury trial for an important firm client? That’s the story of Fred Newman’s lifetime achievement. I was that junior partner (happily, we won the trial). As long as I’ve known him, Fred has believed that his lifetime achievement would be to create a firm that would succeed without him. 

Starting at White & Case as a litigation associate, Fred quickly developed a reputation as an excellent trial lawyer and litigation strategist. He won his first jury trial when he was 28 years old. He then tried several securities law cases before becoming an antitrust litigator. He once took the deposition of a New York real estate owner who later became the country’s 45th President. While at White & Case, Fred developed another lifelong interest: his commitment to pro bono and community work. He volunteered with the Legal Aid Society and soon was running the firm’s volunteer program in charge of hundreds of cases. Recently, Fred served 12 years on the First Department Grievance Committee and taught Professional Responsibility at Fordham Law.