Description
Book SynopsisThis book is the autobiography of a lawyer, born in the Bronx of immigrant parents, who practiced law, served as dean of Fordham Law, participated in framing the Constitution’s Twenty-Fifth Amendment, and served as President of the New York City Bar Association and chair of State Commissions on government integrity.
Table of ContentsForeword by Msgr. Thomas J. Shelley | xi
Preface | xv
Introduction | 1
Part I: My Family and Its Irish History
1 What’s in a Name? | 9
2 Mom’s and Pop’s Origins | 14
3 Mom’s and Pop’s Childhood | 23
Part II: A New Home in America
4 An American Odyssey | 29
5 Settling in the Bronx | 38
6 Growing Up in an Irish Immigrant Family | 46
7 Uncle Pat, Our Life- Long Companion | 58
8 Memories of the Nearby House That Ruth Built | 68
Part III: My Salad Days
9 St. Angela Merici Grammar School, 1942–1950 | 75
10 Bishop Dubois High School, 1950–1954 | 80
11 Fordham College, 1954–1958 | 83
12 Fordham Law School, 1958–1961 | 90
13 Meeting the Love of My Life: Emalie | 97
Part IV: Career as a Lawyer
14 Learning in Part- Time Jobs | 107
15 Joining a Small Law Firm—Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | 113
16 Leaving Skadden | 126
17 Becoming a Law School Dean: An Overview | 132
18 Commitments, Challenges, and Special Moments | 147
19 The Many Hats a Dean Wears | 154
20 Fordham Law Goes to Ireland | 162
21 Leaving the Deanship | 171
22 Becoming a Classroom Teacher | 176
Part V: The Vocation of Service
23 Serving Others | 187
24 The Voluntary Bar | 194
25 Public Service: From Carey to Koch to Cuomo to Bloomberg to Kaye | 199
26 Boards of Not-for-Profit, Charitable, and Public Institutions | 208
27 The Catholic Church | 213
Part VI: Peacemaking and Problem- Solving
28 Learning the Art of Conflict Resolution | 223
29 Conflicts in the Public Eye | 229
Part VII: Constitutional Endeavors
30 Presidential Succession | 239
31 The Electoral College System | 270
32 Other Constitutional Opportunities | 280
Part VIII: The World of Government Ethics
33 The New York State Commission on Government Integrity | 289
34 New York State Ethics Commission | 297
35 The New York State Public Integrity Commission | 304
Part IX: Marriage and Family
36 Our Growing Family | 315
37 Deaths in the Family | 324
38 Roses in December—Rediscovering Mom and Pop | 335
39 My Family: Immediate and Extended | 343
Part X: On a Personal Note
40 What I Learned | 353
41 Advice to My Grandchildren | 358
Appendixes
A Non-Feerick Surnames Associated with My Family | 365
B My Dean’s Reports | 368
C Remarks on Receiving the ABA Medal | 380
Acknowledgments | 387
Notes | 389
Index | 419
Photographs follow pages 142 and 302
