By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Mention the name Ralph Halpern in Buffalo legal circles, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't worked with the veteran attorney - together or as adversaries.

Since graduating from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1953, and following a stint in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps in Korea, Halpern has called Buffalo home for more than a half-century, practicing law and raising three children with his wife, Harriet.

Halpern was recently honored by the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics for a staggering 40 years of service to the committee.

"The formal opinions are often cited by courts and are used by New York state attorneys to guide their conduct," committee member Cheryl Smith Fisher said via e-mail. "Concurrent with Mr. Halpern's service on the committee, he has served on every NYSBA committee considering changes in the ethical rules for attorneys, including the most recent change from the Code of Professional Responsibility to the Rules of Professional conduct."

Halpern downplayed that recognition, saying, "If you live long enough, this kind of thing happens."

Halpern's pride in the legal profession showed through as he sat down in his office at Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP, where he serves as a senior counsel, to discuss life as a lawyer after 55 years on the job.

 

BLJ: Forty years serving on one committee is incredible. Take us back to how it all began for you.

RH: It was a long time ago, and in those days the committees were relatively small. I had an opportunity to join the committee on professional ethics and I thought it would probably be two or three years and you move on to something else.

BLJ: How is it that something else never came along?

RH: I was selected as chairman of the committee in 1971, and from there I served as chairman for five years, and have been on the committee ever since.

BLJ: Forty years is a long time for a career, much less to serve on a committee. How do you keep it interesting and fresh after so long on the job?

RH: What kept me interested is, number one, it is the front line of what attorneys do - the ethics of the profession - which distinguishes it from any other profession. The Ethics Committee isn't a disciplinary committee; it only gives guidance on future conduct and interprets the Code of Professional Responsibility, and as a result the opinions the committee issues are guidance not only for the attorney who asks the question, but for the profession in general.

BLJ: Given the fact that lawyers have long been the butt of many jokes and have often been portrayed in a less-than-favorable light, is there an extra satisfaction in serving on this kind of committee, given that you are helping to shape the ethical decisions of lawyers?

RH: I think this committee, among all of the committees, is the keystone of setting the standards for attorney conduct. What you read, and the jokes and all that, are a tiny, tiny percentage of the profession. The vast majority, 99.9 percent, are ethical attorneys who want to follow the rules, and they come to our committee to find out what they can do to comply.

BLJ: For as long as you've been dealing with attorney ethics, is it frustrating for you when you see cases locally with attorneys behaving in an unethical fashion?

RH: Not only is it frustrating, but it is a blot on the entire profession to see those things. They are so egregious. You don't need an ethics opinion to tell you what they are doing is wrong. You can't dip into clients' funds, and you don't need an ethics opinion or a Code of Professional Conduct to tell you that. Whether something is right or wrong, why march up to the line and see what side of the line you are on?

BLJ: Talk a little about how the legal landscape has changed from when you began.

RH: Several things have changed quite a bit. For one, we have substantially more lawyers. When I began, we had 200,000 lawyers in America; now we have 1.1 million.

The law has become much more complex, and because of that, lawyers now become specialists early in their careers. In the old days, you used to rotate for two years between one department and another. Now, we don't do that anymore, because lawyers get paid at least 25 times more than we started out at as young lawyers. Then of course, the biggest change has been the computer.

BLJ: Talk a bit about how technology has changed what you do, and perhaps reshaped the legal world.

RH: It used to be we would talk to each other on the telephone, but now it seems everything is e-mail. Another thing you see is, the library is shrinking. Hard books are no longer used because you can get everything on the Internet.

BLJ: Was it hard for you to make those adjustments?

RH: We used to have a contest between the older and younger lawyers, "I'm gonna look up the same issue in the books and you do it on the computer, and let's see who can get it first and the quickest." It used to be we would win with the books because the computer used to give you too much information. But now, with the computer, you can hone in and do it much quicker. I've always argued, with little effect on the young lawyers, that I can dictate faster than I can type. But what they learn in school is all on the computer.

When I started, all of the secretaries did shorthand, and they worked for one lawyer. Now they are up to four or five lawyers, because most of the lawyers do the drafting themselves. I don't think the law has changed, but those are the mechanical changes - and, by the way, I don't think the end product is any better, it is just more efficient to get to it.

BLJ: Beyond the Ethics Committee, what work you've done stands out as a personal favorite?

RH: I think being on the House of Delegates for both the State Bar and the American Bar Association, where policy is made in a general sense, was rewarding. But I've always taken the position that the law has been good to me, and you've got to give something back to the profession. I'm active in the (UB) Law School activities because the law school has been good to me, and I enjoy giving my time to various organizations.

BLJ: Fifty-five, 56 years is a long time for any career, but given the rigors of what you do, it is especially impressive. Do you have a timetable for when you see yourself retiring, or do you plan to keep at it indefinitely?

RH: I'm fortunate to be at Jaeckle, where we don't have a retirement age. When somebody asks me that question, I tell them "This is what I do, I'm a lawyer." But the other answer is - somebody called me up on my birthday and said, "I wanted to get you before you go to work." I told them, "I've never called it work, I go to the office. Work is something a laborer does."

I enjoy what I do; I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't enjoy it. At age 80, you don't do it unless you enjoy it.

BLJ: From the countless number of cases you've been involved in through the years, do you have one that stands out because it was unique or special, or that you were especially proud to be part of?

RH: We represented the Buffalo Bills for many years, and that relationship with Ralph Wilson was very special. Defending O.J. Simpson - he wrote a book called "Education of a Rich Rookie" with one of the major publishers (Macmillan Publishing Co.), and they sued him in New York City for a second book they claimed he was supposed to write. His position was only, if he wrote a second book, they would have the rights.

The interesting part of that case (was), we argued in January on a cold, bitter, snowy day in New York. And we get to the courthouse and the judge says, "I'm adjourning this until July 2." We were all ready to go, both sides, and the judge calls us up to the bench and says, ‘"Gentlemen, I'm adjourning this until July because if my grandson ever knew I heard this case without him being present, he'd be very upset." O.J. Simpson in those days was the Babe Ruth of the era.

BLJ: Did you win?

RH: Of course. Lawyers only tell you about the cases they won. You won't hear a lawyer talk about a case he lost.

BLJ: What would surprise people the most to learn about the legal profession?

RH: The thing that the layman doesn't realize is that if 2 percent of lawyers ever see the inside of a courtroom, that's a lot. And if 2 percent of those lawyers ever try a case, that's a lot.

Most cases get resolved, and lawyers do everything but litigation. The public perceives, because of television, that litigation is what lawyers do, but it isn't.

BLJ: It must be satisfying to have your colleagues appreciate and recognize your contributions.

RH: I think you put it as well as I can put it. It's not something you look for or are expecting - in fact, it was a surprise to me. But yes, it is always nice to hear from your peers that they think you did well.

The Ralph
• Name: Ralph Halpern
• Age: 80
• Residence: Buffalo
• Family: Wife, Harriet; three children; five grandchildren
• Education: JD, University at Buffalo Law School, 1953; BA in mathematics, UB, 2006
• Position: Senior counsel, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP
• Practice areas: Business and corporate, financial services and international trade
• Career highlight: Successfully defending O.J. Simpson in a lawsuit with a book publisher during the height of his NFL career.