Guest columnist Goldberg saluted Mandela, other greats

Chuck Otey's Pro Bono Barrister

December 16, 2013 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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We are still being flooded with deserved tributes to Nelson Mandela. We wish some of those paying tribute in eulogy had spoken better of this extraordinary man when he was alive.

Many did, however. One of the most notable such essays we’ve seen was fashioned two years before Mandela’s death and was written by our eminent colleague Evan M. Goldberg. A true trial lawyer, Goldberg envisioned a scene where Mandela would join Mahatma Gandhi and President Abraham Lincoln in the pursuit of justice.

The Goldberg piece was produced ante lite motem – before a motive to misrepresent – and appeared in Bill of Particulars, a magazine for lawyers published through the New York State Trial Lawyers Assn.

A seasoned advocate who believes that the courtroom is the ultimate forum for truth in a society governed by the law, Goldberg regards Mandela as an authentic champion of human and individual rights.

As a dedicated plaintiff’s attorney, he has achieved million-dollar verdicts for victims whose day in court may have been the most critical day in their lives. A sense of justice under the law is a tradition in his family – his dad was the late Kings County Justice Richard Goldberg, whose father, Myles J. Goldberg, was also an attorney.

Grandfather Myles practiced at 16 Court St. His son and grandson were then affiliated with the late John Bonina, Sr., whose son John and daughter Andrea continue as two of our outstanding trial lawyers.

Attorney Goldberg is the chairman of the Trial Law Committee of the NYS Bar Association and has been one of the outstanding performers when the Kings Inn of Court offers authentic dramas for the benefit of younger colleagues.

Born in Brooklyn, Goldberg is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School (He may be contacted at [email protected].) 

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