Remembering Howard Eisenberg

Name: Tom Dixon
Affiliation: State Bar of Wisconsin, CLE Seminars
Submitted: 06/05/2002

Message:
Howard Eisenberg was a friend of mine at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He was smart, articulate and discerning and an excellent debater who loved to share that skill. Those were the tumultuous anti-war days and there was much to debate beyond Palsgraf, "spring-guns" and "consideration."

We grew apart over the years, just naturally going our own ways, but we kept track of one another and there was something about Howard that stayed ever constant. That something was his personal compass - somehow it always seemed pointed in the right direction; and unlike so many, he had the courage to follow it. It was no accident that both the Governor and the Archdiocese were looking to him for counsel and moral leadership at the time of his untimely death. He was that rare "man of integrity and conscience" -- and he'll be sorely missed.

Tom Dixon, '71
Director of Seminars
State Bar of Wisconsin

Name: Mary Burke
Affiliation: Chair-elect, State Bar Appellate Practice Section
Submitted: 06/05/2002

Message: Howard was chair of our Appellate Practice Section at the time of his death. He was an active and involved member since the section's inception: serving on the board, editing the newsletter, co-chairing the 2001 Appellate Advocacy Workshop, planning 2004 CLE programs, and even very recently speaking at our May State Bar convention program. Our section would not be what it is today without Howard's manifold contributions and perceptive leadership.

Many of us also knew Howard as a colleague, friend, mentor, teacher, dean, or legal opponent. His zest for the law an this commitment to his clients were inspiring, event to those -- like me -- typically on the other side of whatever issue was being litigated. His generous spririt and his personal kindness left indelible impressions. Howard was one of a kind, and he will be missed.

Name: James E. Doyle Jr. and Burneatta L. Bridge
Affiliation: Wisconsin Attorney Generals Office
Submitted: 06/05/2002

Message: Howard dedicated his impressive intellect, insight, and tireless service to making the practice of law a helping profession. For him, public service was not simply a sound byte to describe his work; it was a deeply held
conviction and a personal obligation that extended well beyond the way he made his living. It was the way he lived his life. He was a friend to us all, genuine and generous. Howard's leadership by daily example is a priceless legacy to his family, to the students and faculty of Marquette University Law School, to his clients, to the legal profession, and to the
countless people whose lives he has touched in Wisconsin and beyond.

Name: Tom Bertz
Affiliation: Past President, Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association
Submitted: 06/05/2002

Message: I'd like to share a sample of Howard's humor. Howard was the keynote speaker at the Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association's annual luncheon held in Madison on April 25, 2002. At the time, I was the president of the association. After he delivered his remarks, I asked him to comment to the audience about his recent appointment by then Archbishop Weakland to chair the commission looking into the alleged Milwaukee Archdocese clergy abuse. He told the audience, consisting of a federal court of appeals judge, federal district court judges, Wisconsin Supreme Court judges, Dane County circuit court judges, and other notables that he would be very objective about his approach to the matter. He quipped, "I'm not concerned about being excommunicated from the Church." He smiled and added, "Because I'm Jewish." With that remark, he brought the house down with his humor.

Name: Nicholas L. Chiarkas
Affiliation: State Public Defenders Office
Submitted: 06/05/2002

Message: "The value of a man," observed Albert Einstein, "should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive." In one word, Marquette University Law School Dean Howard Eisenberg was a man who gave. I've never known a decision so heavy, a deadline so pressing, or a crisis so confusing that Howard would shy away from it. He gave us encouragement.

From 1972 to 1978, Howard served as the state public defender for Wisconsin. He was an outstanding administrator. His achievements are recorded throughout Wisconsin's justice system. His integrity, courage, and wisdom can not be overstated.

Howard was a man we will not forget. Our collective memories will continue to hold him in high regard.

Ernest Hemingway said, "courage is grace under pressure"; that was Dean Howard Eisenberg.

Name: Pamela Pepper
Affiliation: Solo criminal defense attorney
Submitted: 06/06/2002

Message: Recently I had a client whose family had retained me to pursue a federal habeas corpus petition for him. He was serving a life sentence, having been convicted of a homicide. He was strongly convinced of his innocence. I took the case up to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for him, and we lost but had support from one of the judge on the panel. By that time, however, my client had run out of funds. He wanted to take a run at the U.S. Supreme Court, but had no money and felt hopeless. I couldn't not help him, because I was expecting a baby and wouldn't have been able to do the work in time. Howard--Dean Eisenberg--came to the rescue. He agreed to file a petition for certiorari on the client's behalf at no charge. He prepared an outstanding petition. While the high Court declined to accept certiorari, my client and his family were so grateful that Howard did this. He was truly an exceptional person.

Name: Chuck Blumenfield
Affiliation: Dowling & Blumenfield. LLP
Submitted: 06/06/2002

Message: Several years ago we asked Howard to speak at the Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Criminal Law, co-sponsored by Marquette Law School/Milwaukee Bar Association. We asked him to address the ethics of criminal law practice, hoping that although those attending the conference needed ethics credits (our conference is held in December each year) we could somehow provide a relevant take on the issue. Not only did Howard come up with a unique approach, but the session proved so popular that the "break-out" session format we first used was eschewed in favor of including the topic on the regular program. It became a part of the program drawing the greatest participation from the audience, because that was Howard's forte.

Many have commented on his intellect, his erudition, and his dedication to the law, and all are accurate. But Howard's most unique gift was his ability to speak the common language. Whether leading the discussion on a defense lawyer's ethical duties in the era of scarce resources, or the problems inherent in representing a "difficult" defendant, Howard skillfully led the discussion by posing ethical problems many had faced but few had fully evaluated. With a fast pace, thoughtful insight, and his ready wit, the discussion proved to be the highlight of the conference.

Howard was truly one of the "good guys", and he will be sorely missed. He provided an example we can all try to emulate, and by doing so make our world a better place to live.

Name: Don Kozlovsky
Affiliation: Lawyer
Submitted: 06/06/2002

Message: I did not know Dean Eisenberg personally. I was, however, well-acquainted with him and his deeds. Dean Eisenberg did the ordinary things many lawyers of his stature would not do. Case in point: A year ago, I volunteered to participate in the Law & You Day program at the downtown branch of the Milwaukee County Library. To my surprise, who should walk in but Dean Eisenberg as a lawyer-volunteer for the afternoon session. Secondly, I received at least two invitations from Dean Eisenberg to have breakfast with him at Marquette Law School as part of his efforts to remain in contact and, in many cases, to reestablish contact with alumni of the law school. His efforts were tireless and often without material reward. He truly lived the Christian ethic: to give voluntarily of oneself without hope or expectation of reward. Would that we all could emulate him.

Name: Dean Zemel
Affiliation: Asst. Family Court Commissioner for Milwaukee County
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: I was hired by Howard as an intern for the State Public Defender for the summer of 1974, after my first year of law school. He was an unbelievably tireless person. Although he expected much from the people who worked for him, and in the appellate practice, deadlines always loomed, creating some degree of stress, his offices had a warm, friendly atmosphere. One day, I happened to mention some insignificant, obscure item I'd noticed in a Supreme Court Decision and he challenged what I had told him. Since I had just read it, I was fairly confident about my accuracy so he bet me lunch that I had erred in my reporting. I was certain that this was a golden opportunity to actually prove him wrong so I accepted the bet and started poring over all the cases I had been reading. Suffice it to say that Howard enjoyed a king's feast at my expense and I learned a lesson many others before me had learned---Howard had an incredible memory and wealth of knowledge and if he said something was so, don't ever bet against him!

I have never met a man whose sense of justice and righteousness (tzedakah, in Judaism) was more pure and heartfelt. He was a model for us all, though he never portrayed himself as such.

More recently, I would bump into Howard at the Marquette University Rec Plex periodically and it was such a genuine pleasure to see him again.

Although our paths did not intersect often, I will miss him but more importantly, in addition to his beloved family, our world will miss him...

Name: Irene E. Parthum
Affiliation: MU '89 / Milwaukee County ADA
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: I had the privilege of meeting Dean Eisenberg several times, hearing him speak at Alumni functions, and reading his appellate submissions. He was very much a gentleman, and sincerely dedicated in spreading the mission of MU in a positive manner. He was clearly very sensitive to the issues of "The Women of Marquette Law", when I heard him speak in 1998 at the first dinner celebrating this group. His briefs on behalf of defendants were thoughtful and incisive. His service to the Catholic community in Milwaukee was profound -- and will be missed. My sincere condolences to his family, and his Marquette Family of colleagues.

Name: Karen (Lescrenier) Riemer
Affiliation: Marquette Law graduate, Class of 1999
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: From the perspective of a student who graduated from Marquette Law in 1999:

Dean Eisenberg did things differently than others.
He knew all the students.
His door was always open.
We could go to him with any question or concern any time he was in his office, which included some weekend days.

Someone who graduated from another law school, asked me why one would need to go see the dean. He said that he hardly knew his law school dean. Dean Eisenberg, unlike I suspect most other deans, taught classes that all students are required to take. He then had an opportunity to know each one, or at least as many as possible.

For instance, I went to Dean Eisenberg to ask about why I had done so poorly on my first law school exam in his class. He offered me his time, his patience. He told me I could tape record his class. He put his lecture notes on reserve at the library. He said I could ask him any question; he would make time. He was so generous with his time to so many. He said that, within reason, he would do anything to help me understand and appreciate the law. What a gift!

I just saw him two weeks ago at the State Bar Conference. He said that he was so pleased to see so many Marquette graduates working in Madison, the traditional stronghold of "the other law school." But I believe that he would have been happy for us working anywhere though. He taught us to be good people and be the best lawyers we can in whatever setting, traditional or not, small or large firm, state or private. I plan to keep doing that and keep striving to do better.

Name: Pat Ballman
Affiliation: State Bar of Wisconsin, Quarles & Brady
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: At Howard Eisenberg's funeral I heard nothing but superlatives about him. He was a great man. But nobody mentioned one of Howard's qualities that I admired.
Despite all his wonderful achievement's, Howard was a humble man. He never presented himself as better than anyone else. He was always aproachable and treated everyone as an equal. You would have thought with his position, prestige and accomplishments that he would have known how much better he was than others. But if he knew it, he must have had even higher expectations for himself - because he exzuded humility.

Name: Paul Van Den Heuvel
Affiliation: Grace Consulting; Law Grad ('98) & Adjunct Professor, MU
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: I have been truly blessed throughout my academic and work career and in my community and church life to have been mentored by some wonderfully
gifted and committed people. During both my undergraduate and law school career at Marquette, there were numerous individuals who served as examples of the type of human being I strive to be. Dean Eisenberg was one of those individuals.

I had the privilege of having him for two courses, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. He was a wonderfully gifted professor. He also served as the faculty advisor (taskmaster!) for the National Moot Court team that I participated in. His work ethic and commitment to Marquette and society in general continually amazed me.

His speech/essay, as published on MU's and the Journal/ Sentinel's website and titled: "What's a Nice Jewish Boy Like Me Doing in a Place Like This?" provides guidance for both the attorney and non-attorney.

His discussion of faith in the workplace is especially illuminating. Women and men like Howard Eisenberg have taught me the best way to share your faith in the workplace is by personal example. Just as he admitted in his speech, there are times in which I have failed to live up to such a standard. That hasn't and won't prevent me from striving to be a better advocate, adviser, manager, colleague and human being.

Part of Dean Eisenberg's legacy has yet to be written. Those who strive to follow his example will enhance it.

Name: Jim Walrath
Affiliation: Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: Howard's decision to return to Milwaukee as Dean of Marquette's Law School truly energized our legal community. We knew that his background as the State Public Defender and as head of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association would lead to invigorating debates in the law school's classrooms, at bar functions, and at community meetings about access to justice issues. As a Legal Aid Society Board member, Howard regularly challenged us to expand legal help for low-income clients; and he matched those challenges with his own pro bono legal work for indigent clients. He saw that law school was the logical place to nurture a commitment to helping the poor, adding courses on civil legal aid and legal services work. Howard's boundless enthusiasm for lawyering as a helping profession will continue to energize and challenge us all.

Name: Fr. Robert Wild
Affiliation: President, Marquette University
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: Howard will be forever remembered on campus as a mentor to law students, a prophetic voice for justice, a generous colleague and a tremendous leader of our Law School. He was also a very good friend to many of us, and his counsel, his humor and his human touch will be dearly missed. Quite simply,
he was both a superb legal professional and a splendid human being.

He was very proud to be a member of the Marquette community. He truly believed that every Marquette graduate benefits from a transformational education, one that equips them with the skills to make our world a better place. And Howard did not leave to others the responsibility to have that positive impact on our community. He was available always to help others, especially the poor and underserved who benefited from his extensive pro bono work. I can think of no better role model for students at a Jesuit
university. Howard had a habit of responding quickly and affirmatively whenever his expertise was sought as it was so often by state and local agencies and leaders. His spirit will live on in the halls of this institution and in the hearts of so many.

Name: Statement from Gov. Scott McCallum
Affiliation:
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: Howard Eisenberg was an important and powerful voice in American legal circles and in the Milwaukee community. His death is a sad moment for Marquette University, for Milwaukee and for Wisconsin.

Howard was at the governor's residence just last week as a member of my Task Force on Ethics Reform in Government. I expressed gratitude then for his willingness to co-chair the group with University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School Dean Kenneth Davis, and I thanked Howard for his involvement in such an important matter.

Everyone who knew Howard couldn't help but be impressed by his integrity, intelligence and dignity.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to his immediate family and to the members of his extended family of friends at Marquette University and in Milwaukee.

Name: Moria Krueger
Affiliation: Dane County Circuit Court Branch 7
Submitted: 6/6/2002

Message: Today I attended a service to say good-bye to an old friend and man whom I greatly admired. The eloquent words of those who spoke echoed what I wish I could articulate.
Howard & I knew each other since he was still a law student, butour encounters in recent years always brought a sly smile, an eye twinkle from him, and the mutual feeling of the sharing of a secret understanding. He knew and commented on our wish to give a voice to the disenfranchised. He just did so much more about it!
The Dixieland notes of "When the Saints Go Marching In" reverberating through this hallowed synagogue symbolized Howard's truly holy ecumenicism and irrepresible sense of irony.
It will take some time for the full impact of Howard's passing to hit. It took but a second to know that this loss is gigantic.

Name: Ellen Kozak
Affiliation: Milwaukee media lawyer
Submitted: 6/7/2002

Message: I had the privilege of working with Howard for the past six months on a project being developed through the Marquette Law School.

Although our paths had crossed once or twice over the years, we really hadn't known each other. But through this project I got to know him, and was thoroughly impressed. Here was a tireless man who always seemed to have the capacity to handle one more project, but he was no ivory tower academic. He had a profoundly pragmatic sense of what it takes to get things done.

I kidded him about taking on yet another project when he took on the commission for the Archbishop. "My plate is very full," he replied. Yet there always seemed to be room on that plate for one more project or case or person. I wish I'd had the opportunity to work with him more or to know him longer. But even in this short time, I have become very aware of the void that his passing will create.

It is very fitting that he was dean of a law school, because our profession cannot help but benefit from a generation of law students having him as mentor and example. We could all benefit from that.

Name: A. Steven Porter
Affiliation: Porter Jablonski & Associates, Madison
Submitted: 6/7/2002

Message: Howard was an amazing and brilliant lawyer with an unswerving dedication to the rights of the accused and the down-trodden. After graduating from law school in 1971, he became one of Wisconsin's first State Public Defenders. (I think he was actually the second.) The case reporters for Wisconsin during the 1970's and 80's are full of appellate opinions vindicating the rights of the accused in cases litigated by Howard. Howard was a consummate lawyer and continued to take public defender cases even as dean of Marquette. Two years ago I encountered him at the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. He argued a criminal appeal just before my oral argument on a civil rights case. When the argument was over, the judges all took the opportunity to commend Howard from the bench on his fine work in briefing and arguing the case. Howard was always gracious and unassuming, easy to talk to and always willing to help. Most recently he joined the legal team that along with Ed Garvey and Mike Diaz from the ACLU, successfully litigated the eighth amendment class action on behalf of inmates in Wisconsin's Supermax prison. Howard was dedicated to fine lawyering and a liberal sense of the the role of law in creating a just and nurturing society.
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I will miss him greatly.
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Name: Steven Johnson
Affiliation: Marquette Law Student
Submitted: 6/10/2002

Message: I knew Dean Eisenberg by my passing him in the hallways and his always saying hello and by my speaking briefly with him regarding admission matters etc. I wish I could have gotten to know him better. My initial and immediate impression was that he was an increadibly nice and thouroughly understanding man and I can definately tell that he will be significantly missed. After reading much more about him after this tragedy, I am now convinced that he was a great man and I was right in my personal judgments of him. My condolences to his family and to the staff of Marquette Law School.

Name: Bess Borenstein
Affiliation: Aunt-in-law
Submitted: 6/12/2002

Message: I and my children share the grief and sorrow with Howard's family. We were so proud of his achievments. He was a true gentleman and we will miss him so much. He was a terrific role model for his children and I am sure they will achieve greatness in their lives.

Name: Jim Jackson
Affiliation: University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law
Submitted: 6/16/2002

Message: Dean Eisenberg was a great inspiration to our law school. His car was always the first one in the parking lot. He always had his door open for students and loved to tell stories about his experiences with Chicago and share his love for the Cubs.
We gained so much from his appellate advocacy craftsmanship. He loved to take on the tough issues and make us debate the side we least liked. A lot of folks did not think he would fit into our southern culture. However, Dean Eisenberg had the grace, charm and wit of any southern gentleman and the work ethic of a hundred men. I am a better person for having been a pupil of his.

Name: John Kim
Affiliation: Illinois EPA, SIU Law Grad '88
Submitted: 6/18/2002

Message: It was with much sadness that I learned of the recent passing of Dean Eisenberg. I know I speak for many graduates of Southern Illinois University's law school, and specifically those who were lucky enough to work with Howard in the school's Legal Clinic or on one of his moot court teams, when I say that his intelligence and demanding standards were a positive influence. I tried to keep in touch with Howard over the years, though my last e-mail to him was in 2000. He responded promptly, with his usual (sarcastic) wit and sincere hopes that I was doing well. I hope his family takes some comfort in the knowledge that he leaves a wide and impressive legacy of people and students who have been bettered through their contact with him.

Name: Hugh Treacy, SIU Class of 1991
Affiliation: Orange County Public Law Library, California
Submitted: 6/18/2002

Message: I was a law student at Southern Illinois University from 1988-1991, and I quickly discovered that Howard Eisenberg was among the best faculty of the law school. While working in the SIU Legal Clinic during my third year, Howard recommended me for the Client Service Award, an award that has borne his name since 1992. He was an inspirational teacher, an outstanding lawyer, and a wonderful man. I will miss him greatly, but I have been honored to have known him and been his friend. I will not forget his wit, his energy, and dedication to serving the legal needs of the elderly, the poor, and others who had little voice.

Name: Jeffrey Morse
Affiliation: Lawyer
Submitted: 6/18/2002

Message: I enjoyed working with Dean Eisenberg on three death penalty cases, one right-to-die case, and several prisoner rights cases while a law student at Marquette and then after graduation. He was also my professor for three courses.

He was a great mentor and always willing to help to educate me, both as a student of the law and a student of life. As many others have said, he was very dedicated, very bright, articulate, and willing to give of himself - to anyone in need. He was a great lawyer and a great man.

Howard was the type of person who could not see his own reflection - his sights were always set outside himself - on helping others in need. He worked 24/7 to accomplish this. Although I know it satisified him deeply to do such good works, and it is clearly demonstrable of his honorable nature, I wish he had taken some of that time to take care of himself. I wish he had taken time to find his reflection and recognize that he too had needs. It is said that the candle that burns twice as bright burns only half as long. Howard's light was as bright as I have ever seen, and the world is a much dimmer place without him. He will be severely missed. I mourn the loss.

Name: Lori Eshleman
Affiliation: Class of 2000
Submitted: 6/21/2002

Message: How can I say anything more than what has already been said about Dean Eisenberg. I also benefited from his down to earth concern for students. Getting my first semester grades was like a bucket of ice water over my head. I had been telling my husband that I would be lucky to stay in school and not to expect the customary As and Bs but I was shocked I did not get the usual pretty okay grades. His first year law school grades lightened my mood and he was absolutely correct, I did improve each semester. I also felt affirmed in my strong feelings about a lawyer's duty to give back to the community. There were so many pressures to compete for the "best" jobs, the most money, but I knew that what really mattered was what you accomplished, the best example was sitting there at his desk virtually every time I walked in the door. When we sponsored extra curricular events he usually poked his head in. Seeing his young family really touched my heart when I went to his memorial, here I was feeling sorry for my loss. My heart goes out to Phyllis and Dean Eisenberg's family, how wonderful that you shared this great guy with us.