Victor Rabinowitz
Encyclopedia
Victor Rabinowitz was an American lawyer known for representing high-profile leftist clients and causes.
. He graduated from the University of Michigan
Law School in 1934 and also received his BA
from Michigan.
Rabinowitz was the law partner of Leonard Boudin
. Together they founded the law firm of Rabinowitz and Boudin, currently Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, in New York
. The firm has since represented Paul Robeson
, Alger Hiss
, Benjamin Spock
, Daniel Ellsberg
, Dashiell Hammett
, the Church of Scientology
, and Jimmy Hoffa
. It has also represented the government of Chile
under Salvador Allende
, and the Cuban government since June 1960 and has been Cuba
's only U.S. legal counsel in all U.S.-related matters.
The papers of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Lieberman, P.C., also indicate work for, among others, Rockwell Kent
, the American Communications Association (ACA) and other unions, the Fellowship of Reconciliation
and other non-union organizations .
Rabinowitz was a prominent figure in the civil rights
and liberties
eras. He was one of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild
in 1937 and national President from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of the American Communist Party from 1942 until the early 1960s. He argued many cases before the United States Supreme Court.
He was married to scholar and author Joanne Grant Rabinowitz (1930–2005).
Biography
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a factory owner who had emigrated from LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. He graduated from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Law School in 1934 and also received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Michigan.
Rabinowitz was the law partner of Leonard Boudin
Leonard Boudin
Leonard B. Boudin was an American civil liberties attorney and left-wing activist who represented Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame and Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author of Baby and Child Care, who advocated draft resistance during the Vietnam War...
. Together they founded the law firm of Rabinowitz and Boudin, currently Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The firm has since represented Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
, Benjamin Spock
Benjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
, Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
, the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, and Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
. It has also represented the government of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
under Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, and the Cuban government since June 1960 and has been Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's only U.S. legal counsel in all U.S.-related matters.
The papers of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Lieberman, P.C., also indicate work for, among others, Rockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and writer.- Biography :Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York, the same year as fellow American artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper...
, the American Communications Association (ACA) and other unions, the Fellowship of Reconciliation
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries...
and other non-union organizations .
Rabinowitz was a prominent figure in the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
eras. He was one of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
in 1937 and national President from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of the American Communist Party from 1942 until the early 1960s. He argued many cases before the United States Supreme Court.
He was married to scholar and author Joanne Grant Rabinowitz (1930–2005).
Further reading
- Rabinowitz, Victor, 1996. Unrepentant Leftist: A Lawyer’s Memoir (autobiography). Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, ISBN 978-0252022531
- Review of Rabinowitz' autobiography by John Mage of "Monthly Review"
- New York Times obituary