RICHARD J. UROWSKY

UROWSKY--Richard J. The lawyers and staff of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP mourn the loss of our beloved partner Richard J. Urowsky. Richard died at New York Presbyterian Hospital on January 14, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. He was 67 years old. We regret that Richard was taken from us so soon. Richard is survived by his sister, Ellen, brother-in-law Allen, nephews Andrew and Jonathan, cousins Edward, Norma, Peter and Robert, and many close friends and family. Richard was raised in the Bronx, and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1963. He then attended Yale College, where he was a member of the Elihu Senior Society, secretary of the Aurelian Honor Society, a member of the Elizabethan Club, and an editorial assistant for The Review of Metaphysics. Richard was a philosopher from an early age. After eight straight semesters on the Dean's List and his election to Phi Beta Kappa, Richard graduated from Yale with high honors in 1967. He studied with the great legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart at New College in Oxford University as the C.P. Howland Fellow, receiving a degree in Political Theory and Legal Philosophy. Richard also was a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, Richard was a law clerk for Justice Stanley Reed of the US Supreme Court. During his tenure at the Court, Richard also spent time working in the chambers of Chief Justice Warren Burger and Justices Potter Stewart and Byron White. Richard returned to New York to begin the private practice of law in 1973. He spent his entire legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell, starting as an associate in the litigation department, and becoming a partner of the firm in 1980. He represented a wide range of clients, from financial services firms to automobile manufacturers to commercial printing companies. Whether the case was large or small, Richard always brought his incisive approach to legal issues to bear. Richard was perhaps best known for leading the defense of Microsoft in several antitrust cases brought against the company during the 1990s by the US government. His command of the enormous factual record developed during a six-month trial and his mastery of a wide range of complex legal subjects during a multi-day oral argument before the en banc US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in February 2001 was a sight to behold. Richard was a brilliant lawyer, one who combined a rigorous analytical mind with a sparkling wit. Richard was also a wonderful teacher who was very generous with his time in mentoring younger lawyers. We all learned a lot from him. We were lucky to have had Richard as a friend and colleague for the last 40 years. He was, as one loyal client said upon hearing of his death, "a force of nature and a very good human being." He made us proud of his many accomplishments, but he also made us laugh. We will miss his great intelligence and his subversive sense of humor in equal measure.