Martin London Explained

Martin London
Nationality:American
Occupation:Litigation attorney
Known For:Representing former US Vice President Spiro Agnew

Martin "Marty" London is an American litigation attorney who is best known for representing former US Vice President Spiro Agnew.[1] He was a partner at New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and has been litigation of counsel at the firm since his retirement in 2005.[2] London has published articles in Time Magazine,[3] the HuffPost[4] and The New York Times.[5]

Early life and education

London grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,[6] where his father owned a coin-operated self-service laundromat.[7] Following his graduation from Cornell University in 1955,[8] he went on to attend NYU School of Law and graduated cum laude in 1957.[9] He was a member of the NYU Law Review.[2]

Career

London worked at law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP for 45 years until his retirement in 2005.[10] He was the firm's chairman from 1990 to 1992.[6]

In 1971, London represented former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a harassment lawsuit against the paparazzo Ron Galella, which resulted in Kennedy Onassis obtaining a restraining order against the photographer and highlighting the issue of paparazzi.[11] [12] Other clients include tobacco corporation Brown & Williamson, financial corporation Citigroup and non-profit organization Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, with the latter represented pro bono.[2] [13] In the mid-1980s, London represented the lawyers defending several of Donald Trump's tenants in a separate case, who Trump then sued in an attempt "to crush the tenants by crippling their lawyers."[6]

London was actively involved in the disbarment for unethical conduct in 1986 of Roy Cohn, former chief counsel for Senator Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump's mentor and personal lawyer.[14] [15] [16] In 2018, London called on President Donald Trump to resign.[1] [17]

His memoir, The Client Decides: A Litigator's Life: Jackie Onassis, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and more, was published in 2017.[10]

London contributed to Rachel Maddow's 2018 podcast Bag Man about the criminal investigation into former vice president Spiro Agnew on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud in 1973.[18] According to evidence presented by the then United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, George Beall, Agnew had "sought and received cash payments of more than $100,000 while in elective office" over a period of eight years.[19] Agnew resigned in exchange for the charges being reduced to tax evasion.[19] [20] On the podcast, London recalls the events from his point of view as Agnew's lawyer at the time.[21]

Personal life

London married his first wife, Mellanie R. Bell, in 1958. They had two children, Jesse (*1960) and Lizbeth (*1965), and were divorced in 1974.[22] [23] London's second wife, Doris "Pinks" Wilke London, is a retired private tutor for children with learning disabilities.[24] She has two children from a previous relationship, including her daughter Stephanie Mack, who was married to Bernie Madoff's son Mark until his death by suicide in 2010.[25] It was London who discovered the body of his son-in-law in the couple's apartment.[26]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. I Was a Lawyer for Spiro Agnew. President Trump Should Consider Resigning. Time. 22 August 2018 . en. 2018-08-24.
  2. Web site: Martin London, Of Counsel. www.paulweiss.com. en. 2019-10-18.
  3. Martin London. Time. en. 2019-10-18.
  4. Web site: Martin London HuffPost. www.huffpost.com. 2019-10-18.
  5. News: Opinion Does Censorship Make Us Safer?. 2015-01-30. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  6. Web site: Paul Weiss Lawyer Recalls Top Clients and Fighting Trump in Memoir. Sullivan. Casey. biglawbusiness.com. en. 2019-10-18.
  7. Book: London, Martin. The Client Decides: A Litigator's Life: Jackie Onassis, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and more. Eastlake Press. 2017. 978-0692815885. New York, New York.
  8. Web site: Cornell University, Class Notes 1955. 2019-10-18.
  9. Freedom of the Press or License to Libel: Balancing freedom of the press with an individual's right to protect "a good name" from defamatory statements; NYU Law Alumni Association, 2005 Annual Fall Lecture, judgewatch.org
  10. Book: About the author. .
  11. Web site: Fishing for Life Lessons with Marty London. www.paulweiss.com. en. 2019-10-18.
  12. Web site: Smash That Infomercial!: The Omissions and Lies in HBO's Film About Ron Galella. London. Martin. 2010-06-01. HuffPost. en. 2019-10-18.
  13. News: Creators of Anti-Abortion Web Site Told to Pay Millions. Verhovek. Sam Howe. 1999-02-03. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  14. News: Inside the F.B.I. File of Trump's Mentor, Roy Cohn. Shanahan. Ed. 2019-09-29. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  15. Web site: "Where's My Roy Cohn?" New documentary examines how Trump's former lawyer helped to "Create" the man we know today. MSNBC.com. en. 2019-10-18.
  16. Web site: The 'Where's My Roy Cohn?' documentary director reveals Trump's Machiavelli. 2019-09-24. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2019-10-18.
  17. News: Spiro Agnew lawyer: Trump should resign to keep Mueller from prosecuting his family. Folley. Aris. 2018-08-24. TheHill. 2018-08-24. en.
  18. Web site: Bag Man: A Rachel Maddow podcast from MSNBC. MSNBC.com. en. 2019-10-18.
  19. News: George Beall, Prosecutor Who Brought Down Agnew, Dies at 79. Sandomir. Richard. 2017-01-18. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  20. Web site: Transcript - Episode 5: Double-Header. NBC News. en. 2019-10-18.
  21. Web site: Transcript - Episode 3: Hang In There, Baby. NBC News. en. 2019-10-18.
  22. Web site: London v. London, 420 F. Supp. 944 (S.D.N.Y. 1976). Justia Law. en. 2019-10-18.
  23. News: Jesse London Married to Freda Diane Adler. 1988-01-31. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  24. News: Sloane Schuster, Robert Mikesell. 2006-08-13. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. en-US. 0362-4331.
  25. Web site: Madoff Son's Suicide Followed Battle with Trustee. 2010-12-12. www.cnbc.com. 2019-10-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018213622/https://www.cnbc.com/id/40634612 . 2019-10-18 . live .
  26. News: Mark Madoff Found Dead in Suicide. Henriques. Diana B.. 2010-12-11. The New York Times. 2019-10-18. Baker. Al. en-US. 0362-4331.