“I was scheduled to begin a difficult and extended jury trial in Philadelphia City Hall that day. As my client and I were leaving my office, someone said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. When we got to City Hall, the news had worsened. The trial judge decided to proceed with jury selection and not to tell the panel, and that is what we did until around noon, when we were advised that City Hall was being evacuated. The tension and sense of dread were palpable.
“The next day, we started again with a new jury panel and tried the case continuously for the next week or so until it settled. During that entire time, I was unable even to think about the enormity of what had happened, and I had zero emotional response. After the case had ended, I went to synagogue for Rosh Hashanah and the rabbi had everyone sing ‘America the Beautiful.’ It was at that point that it all hit me and I started to cry. It is amazing how your mind can keep everything at bay and concentrate on the trial, and how the emotional impact may be delayed, but cannot be denied.”
— Arthur W. Lefco, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, Philadelphia
“I had gone for a physical exam in downtown Pittsburgh, but got there and learned the office had closed and the entire city of Pittsburgh was being asked to leave because of the hijacked plane over Somerset County. I came back to my office, which was in PPG 6, and was not allowed by security to go to my own office. I took the light rail home and people were very uptight and quiet.
“Presently, my life has changed dramatically; from a bad marriage to a good one. I stopped drinking on that day and have not had a drink since. It was a particularly serious day.”
— James Ehrman, Margolis Edelstein, Pittsburgh
