In the following short video, Anthony Smith, the grandson of Judge Joseph M. Proskauer, discusses his grandfather’s strong commitment to public service. We are proud that this tradition of giving back and making a difference continues today through our corporate social responsibility and pro bono work across the Firm.

Mr. Anthony Smith: I think if my grandfather were alive today, he would be encouraged and moved by the pro bono work that this firm encourages and supports, and the commitment for everyone to get engaged with public service, public activity and public commitment.

My name is Anthony Smith. My grandfather was Joseph M. Proskauer.

Joseph Proskauer and Al Smith
1918: With Proskauer’s guidance, Al Smith wins election as Governor of New York.
Governor Smith appoints Proskauer as an appellate judge.

He did not stay long on the bench, and I asked him once why he hadn’t stayed longer. And kind of typical of him, he said, “I get sick and tired of watching lawyers screw up cases they should’ve won.” He said, “I just couldn’t stand it anymore.”

1924: Al Smith seeks the Democratic presidential nomination
Proskauer is Smith’s Campaign Manager

My grandfather wrote what is I think arguably the most famous nominating speech in American political history that’s known as the Happy Warrior Speech.

The inspiration came from the Wordsworth poem “The Happy Warrior”
It would be delivered at the convention by a relative unknown: Franklin Roosevelt

So Grandpa drafted a speech for Roosevelt to give. They sent it over to Roosevelt, and he protested. He said, “It’s too flowery—you can’t quote poetry to these delegates in a political convention. It’s just absurd.”

Roosevelt insisted on giving a speech he had written.
To settle the matter, all agreed to abide by the decision of a disinterested party: newspaper editor Herbert Swope, Sr.

And they had to sit there in silence while Swope read both speeches. And when he was done, he took one and he threw it on the ground in front of Grandpa, and he said Joe, “You should be ashamed of yourself, this is just total tripe. And Frank, yours is brilliant.” He had gotten them mixed up. So the tripe was Roosevelt’s. The brilliant one was Grandpa’s. And that was how the happy warrior speech was given.

The speech ended with Roosevelt saying, “We are for one who has the will to win, who not only deserve success, but commands it. Victory is his habit. The happy warrior, Alfred E. Smith.”

Serving as mediator, Proskauer was instrumental in the creation of the State of Israel.

He was essentially turned to by the Jewish agency and the U.S. State Department to be a mediator. And I guess he had the trust of both.

Dartmouth holds a ceremony for conferring honorary degrees.
Among the recipients are President Eisenhower and Joseph Proskauer.

My grandfather went up to Eisenhower and pulled out of his pocket an editorial from that morning’s New York Times, which was about two aides of Senator Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn and G. David Schine.

So Grandpa told him that these two guys were traveling around in Europe, pulling library books out of the United States Information Service libraries, written by Howard Fast, as in Citizen Tom Paine, Lillian Hellman and other dangerous radicals, might even be communists.

I guess Grandpa said this is appalling. And Eisenhower said, “It is. I think I’m going to have an opportunity in the next week or two to speak about this.”

And he says, “Mr. President, in four or five minutes, you and I are going to be sitting over there on that stage, surrounded on three sides by a library. Are you going to be anywhere in the next week or two that would be a better spot than that, to speak about this?”

Eisenhower says, “You’re right.” Reaches into his pocket, pulls out two or three pieces of paper folded together, tears them up, and throws them in a wastebasket.

They go out. Eisenhower speaks, and he does a very sort of hackneyed version of the classic boring commencement speech. And then all of a sudden the switch flips. And he starts talking about not so much the freedom of the press, but the freedom of students, of Americans, to read whatever they want. And that this should not be denied them for political reasons, that’s not who we are. He said, “Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed.”

That speech at Dartmouth was well-received, not only on its absolute merits, but because it was the first time Eisenhower had publically gone after McCarthy.

During World War II, Proskauer helped Jews flee Nazi Germany.
In the 1950s, he helped a Coptic Christian family escape oppression in Egypt.

Kind of coincidentally, I met a woman who was sitting next to someone when I mentioned by grandfather’s name. And she said, “I’m here because of your grandfather.” And I said, “What’s the story?” And she said, “Well I was about six years old when Nasser came into power in 1953 in Egypt. And it was clear that there was going to be a brutal clampdown on the Coptic Christians. My family was Coptic and still is. And your grandfather somehow met my father and understood what was about to happen. And we are in the United States because whatever he did, he got us out and got us into the United States.”

I think dignity and equality were very, very important to him. I think civil rights and civil liberties were certainly very high on his agenda. I’m going to do my best to channel my grandfather. When I heard about the Golden Gavel event and awards, I think he would’ve been both astonished and enormously proud that that is now in the warp and the woof of this firm.

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Photo of William C. Silverman William C. Silverman

William C. Silverman is a partner responsible for leading Proskauer’s global pro bono efforts, which provide assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations in litigation as well as transactional matters. He focuses on identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer…

William C. Silverman is a partner responsible for leading Proskauer’s global pro bono efforts, which provide assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations in litigation as well as transactional matters. He focuses on identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer lawyers and ensuring widespread participation in these projects.

Bill has robust private and public sector experience and a strong criminal and civil background. He has worked extensively on government investigations and white collar criminal matters, as well as complex civil litigation in federal and state courts. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he led criminal investigations, conducted trials and handled Second Circuit appeals.

Throughout his career, Bill has dedicated himself to the promotion of equal access to justice through pro bono service, particularly in the area of family court, anti-trafficking, and immigration.

Bill spearheaded a partnership among several law firms, corporations and the New York City Family Court to provide free legal advice to pro se litigants. The New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program now has more than 400 volunteer attorneys from 40 major firms and corporations. Bill also helped build a coalition of organizations in a successful effort to secure additional Family Court judges in New York. He is now part of an effort spearheaded by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to simplify the New York Court System from 11 trial courts to three.

Bill serves as counsel to the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition. In that capacity he has been a strong advocate for changes in the law and public policy to protect victims of human trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice. He also represents individual clients in this area, including a successful federal lawsuit brought on behalf of a trafficking victim against her traffickers. For his work, he was named by domestic violence nonprofit Sanctuary For Families as one of “New York’s New Abolitionists.”

Bill has spoken at numerous conferences and events, including New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s Hearings on Civil Legal Services and the American Bar Association’s Equal Justice Conference. In 2014, he attended a meeting at the White House with Vice President Joe Biden and other policymakers on the need for access to legal services in immigration proceedings.

Bill has been recognized for his public service with the Abely Pro Bono Leadership Award from Sanctuary For Families and Columbia Law School (2019); the Special Leadership Award for All-Around Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law from City & State Reports (2015); the Commitment to Justice Award for Outstanding Partner from inMotion (2008); and the Matthew G. Leonard Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement from MFY Legal Services (2007).

Outside of his work at the firm, Bill serves on various committees and non-profit boards. Bill is currently chairman of the Fund for Modern Courts, a non-partisan citizen organization devoted to improving New York State courts, and is formerly chairman of Legal Information For Families Today (LIFT), an organization devoted to unrepresented litigants in Family Court.

Photo of Wendy Dessy Wendy Dessy

Wendy Hattler Dessy is the director of corporate social responsibility for Proskauer. She oversees all aspects of employee engagement, board service and corporate social responsibility for the Firm..

Through a host of initiatives, the Firm endeavors to advance education, raise awareness of veterans’…

Wendy Hattler Dessy is the director of corporate social responsibility for Proskauer. She oversees all aspects of employee engagement, board service and corporate social responsibility for the Firm..

Through a host of initiatives, the Firm endeavors to advance education, raise awareness of veterans’ issues, and improve opportunities for women in Africa through literacy and education.

Some of her most impactful programming has included creating an Adopt-a-School initiative, and establishing partnerships with both The Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Village Health Works. Wendy has also created local partnerships across the country in the cities and communities where Proskauer employees live and work.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Wendy served as Executive Director for NYC Cool Roofs and Manager of Public/Private Partnerships for the Mayor’s Office of Service and Volunteerism from 2010 to 2014. Wendy held various positions within the Bloomberg administration and campaigns from 2005 to 2010.