William Schwartz, 84

NEW YORK, N.Y. – William Schwartz of New York died on Dec. 20, 2017. Bill was born on May 6, 1933, in Providence, the son of the late Martha (Glassman) Schwartz and the late Morris Schwartz. Bill is survived by his beloved wife Bernice of almost 61 years, his two children Alan G. Schwartz and Robin Jacobs (Dr. Baruch Jacobs), and four grandchildren: Jessica, Mark, Gabriella (Benjamin Kalmanowiz), and Martha Jacobs. He is survived by his sisters Tillie Orleck, of Cranston, and Elaine Zundell and his brother and sister-in-law Norman and Cynthia Schwartz, of Pawtucket.

Bill graduated first in his class from Boston University School of Law. He completed post-graduate Special Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. He also received a master’s degree from Boston University and doctorates in Humane Letters from Hebrew College and Yeshiva University. Immediately upon graduation from the Boston University School of Law he joined the faculty of the university’s law school – the youngest person to ever do so.

Bill served as a professor of law for over 62 years. He taught at Boston University for 35 of those years and was University Professor of Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law until his passing. He was also a member of Harvard Medical School’s Frances Glessner Lee Institute.  In 2015, the Boston University Law School’s library was dedicated in honor of William and Bernice Schwartz. Together with his wife Bernice, Bill endowed the Schwartz–Jacobs campus of the R.A.S.G. Hebrew Academy in Miami Beach, Florida. Bill authored more than 66 law journal articles and 18 scholarly books.

In addition to teaching, Bill practiced law privately for nearly 30 years at the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft LLP. He served as a director of Viacom, the Sperry and Hutchinson Company, and chairman of the board and director of the UST Corporation. He also served as general director (CEO) of The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was the first honorary member of the National College of Probate Judges.

Bill will be remembered for his great energy, his love of the law and teaching, his unsurpassed intellect, ready wit, kindness, generosity, decency, dignity, and respect for others.