The partners, associates and staff at Jaspan Schlesinger LLP mourn the loss of their colleague, Emanuel Gold, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and a former New York State Senate Deputy Minority Leader, who served nearly 30 years in the Senate. He died at the age of 77 after battling cancer.
Mr. Gold joined Jaspan Schlesinger in 2012 and worked in the areas of commercial litigation, Surrogate’s Court litigation and administrative law.
“Manny brought an extensive and distinguished career between state government and his own private practice to the firm,” said managing partner Steven R. Schlesinger. “As a colleague and friend, he will be greatly missed. We extend our thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones.”
Mr. Gold, who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a ranking member of the Finance Committee, retired from the Senate in 1998. He spent more than 33 years in public service, starting as Counsel to the Assembly Majority Leader in 1965. In 1967, he served as Counsel to the Majority Leader of the New York State Constitutional Convention, and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1970 and to the Senate the following year.
As a legislator, Mr. Gold authored over 86 laws, including the Son of Sam law and the first law requiring the State Division of Human Rights to study and consider age discrimination. In addition, he obtained funding and grants for numerous community programs, including funding to help establish both the Queens College Law School and the Sophie B. Davis School of Medicine.
Mr. Gold was a mediator in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York and the New York County Supreme Court. He was admitted to practice law in the New York State courts; the United States Supreme Court; the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and Detroit, Michigan; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Gold received his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from Cornell University.