Former Congressman Ed Towns joins Wall Street’s Liakas Law Firm

Popular educator and public servant began political service in Brooklyn

April 12, 2024 Special to Daily Bulletin

(Left to right) Dean Liakas, Esq., Managing Partner; Hon. Mark I. Partnow, Senior Partner; former Congressman Ed Towns, Senior Advisor; Nicholas Liakas, Esq., Senior Partner; Stephen Liakas, Esq., Founding Partner. Photos courtesy of Liakas Law Firm

Share this:

EDITORS’ NOTE: Former Congressman Edolphus Towns was born to be a public servant. With a background in farm work in his native North Carolina, understanding the cycle and the power of the harvest, he mastered the turbulent politics of urban Brooklyn, resulting in a 30-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Towns also worked as a teacher at Medgar-Evers Collge, Fordham University, as well as the New York City public school system. With a Master’s Degree in social work from Adelphi University, he was primed with the experience and the knowledge to do great work in Congress.

A quote from his years in Congress clarifies his approach to service for his fellow citizens: “Our resources are abundant, our productive capacity enormous, surely we can find a way to take care of each other.”

DAILY BULLETIN: As you begin a new chapter in your life at the Liakas Law Firm, you are, in effect, stepping up to the batter’s box again. This is quite inspirational, considering the length of your great service. We recollect that you grew up in North Carolina with experience in farming and the cycle of harvesting. Did you find that base of work ethic helpful to you when you became a city boy?

EDOLPHUS TOWNS: I think that really helped me a lot in Congress, to be able to look at the city life and also to look at the country life and to be able to form coalitions that I probably would not have been able to form otherwise. And, when I appeared on the Charlie Rose show, discovering that he was also from North Carolina, it was a fruitful area of mutual conversation: the transference of some verities learned on the farm to a diverse urban setting. In both situations, you learn there is a common ground, sometimes seen as what I would call the “will of God.”

DAILY BULLETIN: Can you comment on the connection between service as an elected official, where you exhibited great sensitivity to the task of setting things right for constituents who had problems, and your impending work with a firm like Liakas Law?

Former Congressman Ed Towns, Senior Advisor at Liakas Law.

TOWNS: I think there’s a great connection because it’s all about improving the quality of life. When I served in public official roles and elected office, my focus was always to see what we could do to make life better for the people we serve. I feel this is also my mission as part of Liakas Law. Even at my age, when others might be considering retirement — or worse — I feel honored that I can use my years of service and problem-solving to make a difference at the Liakas Law Firm.

DAILY BULLETIN: Do you have any stories or recollections about your experiences in Brooklyn that brought you in contact with your new colleague, Hon. Mark I. Partnow (retired former Justice of the Supreme Court of New York), as both of you worked in civic and political service while you grew to eventual positions of, respectively, Congressman and New York State Supreme Court Judge?

TOWNS: Actually, I’ve known Mark Partnow for decades, and I recall when he decided to run for Civil Court. When I was in the room with him, I said, “Yes, please, do it!” I supported him then; I still support him now and am excited about the possibility of having the opportunity to work with him again as he’s part of the Liakas Law Firm. His whole family has always been public service-oriented. His wife, Sue Ann, is one of the most influential people in South Brooklyn precisely because she is such a great public servant. Mark served honorably on the New York State Supreme Court for decades before he retired, and the opportunity to work with him again is very exciting.

DAILY BULLETIN: Being a transplanted Southerner, what do you most love about your adopted home of Brooklyn?

TOWNS: Diversity is something that I’m excited about in the area where I initially lived. It was just a traditional black community, and that was it. Being here now in a Wall Street law firm — and being part of a situation where you have the opportunity to serve people from different economic backgrounds with the power of your experience and the mission of the Liakas Law Firm — it’s exciting. I love being able to make a difference, just as I felt I was doing God’s work when I was on the farm in North Carolina as a boy. Of course, diversity exists in so many other places, like Miami, for example, but there is nothing like the centuries-old diversity that made New York City what it is, and that goes double for Brooklyn.

About Liakas Law Firm

Founded in 2014 by Stephen Liakas, Liakas Law, P.C. was established to advocate for injured workers and residents in the tri-state area. Stephen, alongside his brothers and fellow Partners Dean and Nicholas Liakas, effectively built a firm that focuses on complex injury cases, utilizing a personalized approach and prioritizing first-rate legal advocacy for every client. The attorneys at Liakas Law have a wealth of experience in handling a wide range of cases, and they utilize their diverse abilities and successful history to confront well-established defense firms and insurance companies across the tri-state, advocating for the rights of individuals who have suffered serious injuries due to someone else’s negligence.