Lowell Rothschild RIP

December 29, 2017

Lowell Rothschild RIP

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Lowell Rothschild died on Friday, December 29, 2017. Survivors include his children, Jonathan (Karen Spiegel) and Jennifer (Julian Izbiky), grandchildren Isaac Rothschild (Tanya Miller), Nathan Rothschild (Jenny Stash), Molly Rose Rothschild, and Alex Izbiky, two great-grandsons, and scores and scores of friends and colleagues and admirers.

Many words will be written about Lowell. They will surely understate the depth and breadth of his impact on so many lives. He was – he’d never use this word about himself, but used it often to describe others – a magnificent attorney. Bankruptcy gave him his reputation, but he was a leader nationally in the field of law office management. In other areas he worked at a high level on

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Search Warrant at Mar-A-Lago

August 9, 2022

Search Warrant at Mar-A-Lago

B-Bye Donald J. Trump

Former Guy

The Federal Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, Former Guy’s Palm Beach Palace, yesterday. Let the whining begin!

I expect that the FBI and those in charge at Main Justice obtained the search warrant because they believe Former Guy / others have committed serious crimes. This man deserves no more respect than anyone else when it comes to investigations of criminal conduct. That said, I am confident that the powers that be understand prosecutorial discretion. Yes, if evidence suggests a crime, authorities should investigate. However, reports of a roach in the White House would not and should not generate a criminal investigation of WH occupants for possession of marijuana.

Merrick Garland

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Thirty-Nine Years Ago … There’s More

November 18, 2020

Thirty-Nine Years Ago … There’s More

39 years more

Mark Rubin

My post on October 17, 2020 shared the events of October 17, 1981, together with some professional lessons I got from early mentors, David Leiberthal and Howard Kashman. This post, begun at the end of the day on October 19, 2020 – the 39th anniversary of my first day at work at Lieberthal & Kashman, P.C. – and finished 30 days later, fills in a few blanks over the past 39 years. Incomplete it is! Stay tuned for more recollections.

Using Technology to Encourage Judicial Economy

An old friend of mine has been a judge more than 20 years. Awhile back, I allowed as how the courts could figure out, what with

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Thirty-Nine Years …

October 16, 2020

Thirty-Nine Years …

39 Years ...

Mark Rubin

On a lovely Saturday morning in 1981 – as it happens, October 17 – I travelled to Tempe, to Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium – to become a lawyer. (Frank Lloyd Wright designed the building, which was completed in 1950.) With me were my mom and my sisters. (My father, whose father was a lawyer and whose determined nature led me to that place on that morning, was elsewhere.

Grady Gammage uplifts me, always. One of my 10 favorite buildings, easily. And, while the occasion was hardly festive – no balloons or banners or such – the room felt joyous.

We lined up by State Bar numbers, issued alphabetically to new admittees. My number was 007092.

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Decades, Redux

January 1, 2020

Decades, Redux

decades, redux

Mark Rubin

I give in! For me the 20th century ended on 12/31/2000, and this decade ends in 364 days. Right is right, but what does and doesn’t matter matters too … and when the decade ends represents a non-issue.*

The Teens started early for me, on Friday, September 4, 2009. I was winding down for the afternoon, ready for the Labor Day weekend. Leaving my building—I owned it—I noted some water coming out of a pipe, into the parking lot. Bothered a bit and thinking about the hassles associated with finding a plumber on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend, I left.

By Tuesday morning, I understood the nature of the problem: a bad

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Happy New Year

January 2, 2018

Happy New Year

happy new year

Mark Rubin

Days go by fast or slow, depending on what’s up, my mood, etc. Weeks and months and years? They pass like a train in the biggest hurry to get to who knows where. 2018 already? Incredible!

With yet another loss at the end of a year, my mind wandered to an emblem of aging: more funerals than weddings. Googling that phrase took me to Ecclesiastes 7:2: It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Hmmm! From writings which include the reminder that there’s a time for everything and a season

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On Turning 60

September 16, 2017

On Turning 60

almost 60

On the High Line, Days Shy of 60

So, 60 I am. First, the day.

September 14 arrived as most days do. Early. There must be some Upper Midwest stock in me, for I live a little like a Norwegian Bachelor Farmer might. (Actually, nothing about me matches the link, but I rise early, I work hard, I go to bed early, and I’m not married. And I am planning a vegetable garden at my new home.)

Thursday rocked on. Lots of Facebook greetings, and I responded to all of them. At least I think—and hope—I did.

Facebook has its detractors. I understand some of the issues associated with FB, and I know many who don’t like

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Proposition 101: Tucson Sales Tax Increase

May 1, 2017

Proposition 101: Tucson Sales Tax Increase

Tucson has an election coming soon, on May 16, 2017. Voters will decide whether they want to increase the city sales tax by ½ of one percent to pay for road maintenance and public safety. Here’s a link with details, courtesy of Ballotpedia. Here’s the key takeaway regarding the spending plans:

Proposition 101 increases the sales tax by an additional 1/2 percent between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2022. The 0.5 percent tax would bring in an estimated $250 million over the five years.

Of the revenue raised by the 0.5 percent sales tax, 60 percent would be deposited into a Public Safety Improvements Fund and 40 percent would be deposited

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My Weekend, Up and Down

April 10, 2017

My weekend, up and down.

My mom died 24 weeks ago. Since then a former law partner, hero and role model’s wife departed. (The former law partner is Lowell Rothschild. More on him below.) A great, great attorney and larger than life man, Steven Phillips—who was a landlord, mentor, and dear friend—died suddenly the day after Thanksgiving. Just before the end of the year, friends for 50 years lost their wife and mom. She was the woman who asked me and her oldest daughter, driving us home from high school one day, why the school did not teach elocution. (No answer, for I had to look up the word in my dictionary, but I’ve never forgotten the fact that Joan

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Random Thoughts on the Tucson Tragedy

January 16, 2017

Random Thoughts on the Tucson Tragedy

[Note: Cleaning generates lots of forgotten stuff. I shared these thoughts, six years ago to the day, at a different blog site. Since she was shot on January 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has made a truly remarkable recovery. She’s a vital member of our community, and a public citizen who works hard to reduce the adverse impact of guns in our lives.*]

I’ve been quiet until now. “Mostly quiet,” to be totally truthful. We had a dinner party on January 8. The food was ready and the friends close, so we saw little reason to cancel. At about 9:30 and with a snoot full of wine in me, I answered the phone.

A

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