Legal News

Tolles (Williams, Harvard Law) served in the Marine Corps as a pilot during World War II. One of his partners, Ron Olson, said that “respect for clients and colleagues was in his DNA.” He added in a statement: “Roy’s common sense and quick wit undergirded our firm for 30 years.” (Note to Self: Undergirded — great word.)

Kramer (Yale Law) founded the firm in the 1960 with Maurice Nessen and Foster Bam as an alternative to New York’s white-shoe firms. It now has more than 300 lawyers. Firm partner Charlotte Fischman told the Times that in the late 60s, when Cravath announced that it was doubling the salary of first-years to about $15,000, Kramer matched it. (By the time the Law Blog joined Kramer Levin, Kramer had left the firm and had become a money manager.)

Kramer’s brother Larry Kramer is the famed playwright and AIDS activist. Their relationship was the subject of this 2006 front-page article in the NYT. Indeed, Kramer Levin’s leading pro bono program has been very active in the fight for gay rights.