85 CBJ 297. IN MEMORIAM.

Connecticut Bar Journal

Volume 85.

85 CBJ 297.

IN MEMORIAM

Connecticut Bar JournalVolume 85, No. 3, Pg. 297September 2011IN MEMORIAMEmanuel Margolis

March, 1926 - August, 2011

Hon. Chase T. Rogers, Chief Justice

Connecticut Supreme Court

Last May, I had the honor of presenting the Connecticut Supreme Court's 2011 Law Day Award to Emanuel Margolis. In presenting the award to this remarkable man-Manny-I noted that those who had gathered to honor him would be in the courtroom for days if I tried to summarize all of the highlights of his career or tried to list all of the people whose lives he'd affected. In fact, Manny probably didn't know himself, and if he did, he wouldn't tell us. That's how modest he was.

He was our beloved mentor, colleague and friend, who distinguished himself through his remarkable talent, spirit and compassion-truly one of a kind.

Manny represents the legal profession's best. He was on the front lines every day, fighting for the principles that make this country great, and he did it with dignity, civility, and courage. I polled some of the lawyers who had known Manny for decades, asking for appropriate words to describe him. The answers overwhelmingly included: fearless, relentless, and a gentleman- fitting and complimentary descriptions of a true attorney-advocate.

Manny was fiercely committed to fighting for the underdog, to fighting oppression, and to holding government accountable for its actions. He always said that transparency in government is absolutely indispensable to the rule of law and to our democracy. If the rule of law goes, the democracy goes with it. At the Law Day ceremony, he remarked that the Arab Spring...