Henry Friendly, Greatest Judge of His Era.

• Author: Cullen, Steven P.

Henry Friendly, Greatest Judge of His Era

by David M. Dorsen

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For decades, Judge Henry Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided a fertile source of opinions for casebook editors. In turn, law students received a steady diet of Friendly cases on myriad subjects from habeas corpus, commercial law, torts, and federal jurisdiction. Books and law review articles authored by him spew endless legal wisdom. Suffering with a raging case of legal infantilism, inquiring minds may ask: Who was this guy Friendly, anyway? Although it took many years, author David M. Dorsen has brilliantly answered the rhetorical inquiry: Henry Friendly, Greatest Judge of His Era.

Born to a successful German-Jewish family in Elmira, NY, in 1903, Friendly attended public schools. After receiving a history degree from Harvard, his academic inclinations were apparent. At Harvard Law School, he achieved the highest numerical average since Louis Brandeis many years earlier. Felix Frankfurter mentored him at Harvard. After serving as a clerk to Brandeis, he shelved a passion easily within reach to teach history or law at Harvard. Choosing private sector work instead, Friendly climbed the ranks in a large New York firm, helped found his own firm, and served as general counsel to Pan American Airlines. The era of the Great Depression, which presented significant obstacles to the legal careers of many, did not slow him. Along the way, he married his beloved wife, Sophie, and consistent with the mores of the time, participated in raising three children.

Although known as a tireless advocate for his clients, the mediocrity of commercial, regulatory, and administrative work left him unfulfilled. With his sights set on appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Friendly's quest was slowed by a less than well known career, stealth candidates ahead of him, spotty openings, and of course, politics. In late 1959, the stars aligned perfectly as with the help of some political and legal heavyweights (Felix Frankfurter, Learned Hand, and Senator Lyndon Johnson) when the U.S Senate confirmed Friendly's nomination by President Eisenhower.

Although Judge Friendly spent nearly 27 years on the Second Circuit bench, assessing his lifetime judicial labor presents several challenges. First, although the court's workload is substantial, only a minute percentage of litigated federal cases ever get there. An even smaller number of lawyers habitually...