(1913 - 1995)
The Honorable Jacob "Jack" Fuchsberg was a towering legal figure who served as Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1975-83. Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Jack earned his law degree from New York University School of Law. He went on to spend many years as one of the nation's pre-eminent trial lawyers.
In 1964 as a trial lawyer, Jack won the country's first million-dollar personal injury verdict. On a windy day, a street sign had fallen striking his client and leaving the young boy quadriplegic. Jack summed up to the jury, Every time you walk out of here with a proud feeling of full justice done, wherever it leads you, that spire has just reached a little more heavenward. Inspired by Jacks representation, the young boy went on to become an attorney.
Jack's most famous case was Baby Lenore, a tortuous struggle that received nationwide publicity in the early 1970s. In that case, he represented the adoptive parents of a young child whose natural mother sought to revoke her consent to the adoption. A New York court ruled in her favor, but the adoptive parents moved to Florida, where a court found for them. The case led to changes in adoption laws and procedures throughout the country.
Throughout his distinguished career, Jack was a crusader and a guardian of the rights of the people. The Touro University's Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center on Long Island is named in his honor.
