“Let's Rock and Roll!” A Tribute to J. Herbie DiFonzo

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12318
• Date: 01 January 2018
• Published date: 01 January 2018

“LET’S ROCK AND ROLL!” A TRIBUTE TO J. HERBIE DIFONZO

Alexandra Faver

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Walking into Hofstra Law School in August 2015, I was petrified. As a first-year law student,

I heard horror stories of professors using the Socratic method coupled with a public reprimand if one

failed to sufficiently answer a cold-call question. Fortunately for me, my civil procedure professor

could not have been further from this depiction.

I put my books down in the second row of Room 230, a lecture hall that can easily hold over 100

students. I looked around while anxiously waiting to see what our civil procedure professor was

going to be like. In walks a man with hair as white as snow and a beard to match. What really stuck

out, though, was his smile. I had never seen someone so genuinely happy and excited to start teach-

ing a room full of students who would undoubtedly struggle with the Erie doctrine and differentiating

personal jurisdiction from subject matter jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the first words out of his mouth

were, “Is everybody ready? Let’s rock and roll!” This was how he began every class for the entire

year, and I’m sure every class he ever taught.

Section A was blessed to have Professor DiFonzo teach us civil procedure for all of our first year.

He was the perfect embodiment of who should be teaching first-year law students—kind, compas-

sionate, and understanding—and he truly wanted each of us to succeed.

During the spring semester of my first year, a close friend of mine who was a third-year student

was Professor DiFonzo’s research assistant. Herbie was working on a wide variety of projects, as he

always was, and was looking for additional research assistants. It was then that I started working for,

or as he would correct me, working with, Herbie.

From that point forward, Herbie was not only my professor, but also an invaluable mentor and

friend. I would run to his office for our weekly meetings eager to provide him with information and

proposals for our projects. I was not allowed to discuss our projects until he asked me how I was

doing, if I was taking on too much, or if he could help me with personal undertakings like my intern-

ship search. This small, seemingly insignificant detail truly illustrates the type of person Herbie was.

He made students feel comfortable and as great of a speaker as he was, he was an even better lis-

tener. Students, myself included, were frequently seeking his advice or even to use him as a sounding

board. As an ambivalent student, I was constantly questioning what direction to take and what career

path I would ultimately pursue. Herbie always eased my qualms and fears, as he also did with many

other students past and present. He continuously reminded me not to let anyone else influence my

career or academic decisions and that he would do anything to help me end up where I am meant to

be. From being in tears in his office over pre-finals stress and attempting to find a job, to congratula-

tory celebrations upon the most menial of accomplishments, through the good times and more diffi-

cult ones, Herbie was always there.

When Herbie’s wife, Ruth, was diagnosed with cancer last year and ultimately passed away a few

months later, it was truly devastating. I had never seen someone who loved, respected, and held his

or her significant other on such a high pedestal. The outpouring of support he received during that

difficult time from students, faculty, and friends exemplified how the Hofstra community, and

beyond, was touched in a meaningful way by Herbie. When he hurt, we all did. Even during that dif-

ficult period in his life, he showed such strength and grace that we could all only hope to possess in

not only our darkest days, but every day.

What I will selfishly miss the most about Herbie is his altruistic guidance and humor. I will always

pause in a moment of self-doubt when I realize I cannot send him an e-mail to have him respond in a

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 56 No. 1, January 2018 16–17

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C2018 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts