Page 398 - WhyAsInY

Why (as in yaverbaum)
Harry had been a co-trustee with a man named Sam Cohen, in connec- tion with trusts created for the benefit of Sam and two of his sisters by their father, who had been a client of Harry’s. Harry was also the accoun- tant for the trusts. For years, Harry had told me of threatening complaints made by the female beneficiaries, who objected to loans that Sam had caused the trust to make to him, loans that Harry had agreed to. Based on what I knew as an attorney concerning the fiduciary obligations of trustees in such circumstances, I had told Harry that I thought that he might be exposing himself to liability by going along with the wishes of Sam Cohen, who was also a client of his. I also thought, and told Harry, that he would be better off if he were to resign as trustee. My concerns were only exacerbated when I discovered that Sam Cohen had been an investor in certain Las Vegas hotels where the mob had an interest—and had recently been indicted for fraud. Harry steadfastly defended his actions and essentially laughed off my advice.
Finally, the beneficiaries sued Harry. When they did, he asked me to have my firm represent him, which it did, via my friend and partner, Peter Nadel, an excellent litigator. As time went by and a lot of work was done for Harry, Harry would tell me how he was helping me by enabling me to take credit for his business, and thus advance my fortunes at the firm. Unfortunately, Harry did not pay his mounting bills; and when I told him that I was getting pressure to get the bills paid from Murray Cohen, the senior partner in the “Non-Litigation” half of the firm, Harry laughed in his characteristic I-know-better fashion and told me not to worry about it. The bills were never paid while I was at the firm, and to this day I don’t know if and to what extent they were paid after I left Rosenman for Coronet Properties in 1986.
Phyllis and the Synagogue
2 traP—noitacudE suoigileR yM
As noted above, to better understand the context in which the ultimate breakup of our marriage occurred, it would be helpful to describe the role that religion generally—and the synagogue in particular—
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