Martin Riger

RIGER--Martin, retired lawyer and law professor. Died on October 25th, 2008. Born in New York in 1910, Martin won scholarships and worked his way through Cornell University, becoming editor of the yearbook, and through Columbia Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Graduating from law school in the depths of the depression in 1934, he was recruited by Abe Fortas and William O. Douglas (both would become Supreme Court Justices) to join them at the new Securities and Exchange Commission, where he became director of the division governing the mergers and acquisitions of large corporations. An ensign in the Navy Air Force in World War II, he was on leave when his sister introduced him to her office manager, Anne Cohen. Immediately smitten, he proposed on his next leave. By war's end, he had a wife, two daughters, and the rank of lieutenant commander. After the war, he joined Federated Department Stores in Cincinnati and eventually became their general counsel. At age 59, he "retired" and became a law professor at Georgetown University Law School and "of counsel" to the law firm of Arnold & Porter. He cared deeply about legal ethics, writing articles decrying golden parachutes and other controversial practices. His wife Anne died at a hospice in Florida in 1994. At a memorial service for the relatives of those who had recently died at that hospice, he met his second wife, Elsie. He wore two wedding rings to commemorate two happy marriages. Martin was a painter and photographer, and loved music, art, ballet, and great literature, enjoying to his final days his beloved Mozart. In addition to his daughters and sons-in-law, Andrea (Andrew) and Stephanie (Dan), he is survived by his sister, Edith Berman, his grandchildren Adam, Scott, Matthew and Jake, and his dear friend, Hana Heller. He will be sorely missed. The funeral service will be at 11am on Monday, October 25th, at Larchmont Temple, Larchmont, NY. The family will be receiving on Monday and Tuesday evening, from 6:30 to 9pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to The Riger/Potash Family Fund in Ethics and Public Life, Cornell University, Dept. of Alumni Affairs and Development, 130 E. Seneca, Ithaca, NY 14850.