A Tribute to Fred N. Fishman
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law (Lawyers’ Committee) mourns the loss of Fred N. Fishman who passed away on June 5, 2018 at the age of 92. Fishman was born on August 21, 1925 in New York City to Arthur and Frederica Fishman. He attended Boys High School in Brooklyn before heading to Harvard College to receive his Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in 1946. Fishman went onto Yale University to complete a postgraduate year before returning to Harvard Law School to get his Bachelor of Laws degree magna cum laude in 1948. Fishman was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and editor of the Harvard Law Review during his time at Harvard Law School.
Fred served as one of our former Board Co-Chairs. His daughter Nancy Fishman shares that “he enjoyed and was very proud of his involvement with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.”
After graduate school, Fishman worked as a law clerk for Chief Judge Calvert Magruder for the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit and Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter from 1948–1959. In 1950, Fishman passed the New York bar and began working at the law firm Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, LLP (Kaye Scholer LLP) in New York. He became a member of the Supreme Court of the United States Bar Association in 1954 after clerking there from 1949–1950. Fishman later became a partner and chairman of the executive committee at his firm, Kaye Scholer LLP.
During his lifetime, Fishman was a member of many organizations including the Lawyers’ Committee, where he held the positions of Co-Chairman from 1983–1985, Director-Trustee in 1979, and honorary lifetime trustee. During his time at Lawyers’ Committee, Fishman was a committed member, making many substantial contributions and working on a variety of initiatives to forward civil rights. Fishman also served as a member and treasurer of the Association of the Bar of the City New York, Chairman of the Committee of Corporate Law, and Chairman of the Committee of Federal Legislation.
Fishman was a proud and active Harvard alumna, serving in multiple positions including chairman of the Harvard Law Fund, Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) director, the dean’s advisory board of the Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Public Health Leadership Council, and as president of both the Harvard Law School Association and the Harvard Law School Association of New York. He received the HAA Alumni award in 2004 for his career’s work in law, and commitment to Harvard Law School.
Fishman was the husband of late Claire Powsner Fishman and is survived by his children Robert J. Fishman and Nancy K. Fishman, and his grandchildren Evan and Tyler.
