UPDATE: From the Blumenfeld family:
On Sunday, May 15, 2022, Jack R. Blumenfeld, loving husband, brother, father and grandfather, passed away at age 79 surrounded by his loved ones.
We ask that you give the family time to grieve during this difficult time.
All of these are tough. Some are harder than others. This one is very hard.
Jack Blumenfeld, one of the old guard criminal defense attorneys who cut his teeth in the 1970s and was there for all of the drug wars that followed, passed away this weekend.
Jack was old school, and that is a badge of honor. He is from a time when lawyers huddled in the hallways, made deals and shook hands and his word was his bond. If the case needed a little extra work, then a drink in a bar was a good way to settle it. And if the case could not be settled, then he tried the case and he was great at it,
There is so much that pains us about the loss of Jack. Part of the loss is that he was a storehouse of knowledge of lawyers and cases most of you have never heard of. But it is under the shade of those trees - the acorns that Jack and his contemporaries planted- that most of you practice law.
Jack was a treasure. As a person and as a lawyer. We are broken hearted by hearing this news. A few weeks ago we spoke with him. He was loving retirement, teaching law to highschoolers. He told us if he knew how much he would enjoy retirement he would have done it years ago. It was someone like Jack who inspired us to go to law school many years ago, and we can see why he would thrive around young people who thirsted for his knowledge and reveled in his war stories- of which there were many.
Jack was a great lawyer. He was a great family man- which was the most important thing to him. And he was a great friend. We shall not see his like again.
Rest in Peace old friend.
When Gerald Kogan passed away, Jack saw fit to email this to Rumpole:
Rumpole, I’m sure that you will get many comments regarding the devastating loss of
Jerry Kogan. Most will come from young and not so young lawyers who practiced before
him on the Circuit Court and/or the Supreme Court. But, there are a few of us older
(guess ancients would be more accurate) who go back to the 60s and 70s with him.
I met him as a young ASA and tried many cases against him, especially as a Major Crimes
prosecutor handling murder cases. Unfailingly, he was brilliant. His closings made you
wonder if you would have voted NG if you were a juror, even when you knew the
defendant was guilty. But, he was also unfailingly a true and consummate professional.
He NEVER made it personal. He treated every lawyer-even
adversaries- with respect. That didn’t change when he took the bench either, as many can
attest. When I decided to leave the SAO, he invited me to practice with him and a year
later made me his first law partner; a junior partner for sure, though he never treated
me as anything but an equal. What an experience!! We got a young law clerk from
UM Law, who seemed to have some promise. His name: Alan Ross.
Can you imagine a better place to practice in those days?
More importantly, I knew him as a human and it was as a human that he excelled.
He was one of the most decent, honest and respectful person I have ever met.
Yes, he was a great lawyer and jurist, but, he should also be remembered as a great husband,
father, brother and friend. He just did life the right way.
Gerald Kogan made you proud you were a lawyer; especially proud to be a criminal defense
lawyer. And he made me thank G d for allowing me to know and associate with him.
Frankly, if we have displayed pictures of some of our colleagues who have left us,
we should dedicate the entire 4th floor in his name!!!