Richard Allan

A Brooklyn Law School professor for over 40 years, who taught entertainment law, civil procedure, and family law to the next generation of legal minds, Richard Allan, has passed away of natural causes at the age of 92. Richard was a fiercely proud native New Yorker who attended and graduated from Midwood High School in Brooklyn and received both his undergraduate and law degrees from NYU. Richard was a true New Yorker who exhibited the diverse range of interests that beautifully personifies and captures being a New Yorker. He loved the City, its institutions and the diversity of its people and varied opinions. He enjoyed a new challenge, a good debate and was a lifelong learner.After working at CBS as an assistant producer and director on Edge of Night and The Garry Moore Show, he went to New York University Law School. Immediately after graduating NYU law school he accepted a position to serve the public as an assistant Manhattan District Attorney under the then District Attorney Frank Hogan. He was extremely proud of his public service to the City of New York. After that, he joined Kelly Drye & Warren, where he was a general commercial litigator, who was assigned to many of the firm's significant client matters. Richard joined Brooklyn Law School in 1973. In addition to teaching law school classes, he chaired and co-chaired conferences and presented papers extensively in Europe and the United States on a wide range of topics related to international terrorism, violence, and civil rights. He served as a governmental advisor on issues of international terrorism and was the Distinguished Scholar at the Center for Security and Counter-Terrorism Policy, and Senior Consultant at the East-West Institute, a think tank whose focus is Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He was also on the editorial board of Crime & Justice International. Until recently, he maintained a website publishing on issues related to terrorism and for nearly two decades was a go to voice on the subject for both television and journalism, where he had numerous articles published.For students of Professor Allan, they also came to know his two children (Sabrina and David) who he'd routinely reference in his classes and on final exams. As satisfying as teaching and the legal profession was to Richard, there wasn't anything more important to him than his family. Sharing their interests, learning new technologies to interact with them and making time to spend with them, Richard found joy in family, professional and personal interests- life just fascinated him on a daily basis. Richard was a devoted husband to his wife of 64 years, Lee- they travelled, laughed and loved being together. He loved and was loved by his children Sabrina Allan and David Allan and their spouses Douglas Ellenoff and Andrea Lewis Allan. Richard took unparalleled joy from his four grandchildren Nicholas, Scott, Henry and Lucas, who were the absolute centerpieces and joy that fulfilled him more than anything- he was proud of all of them. In lieu of flowers, if you would like please make a donation to Project Cicero at ProjectCicero.org