The Passing Of A Truly Great Man

The District of Columbia legal ethics community has lost one of its few giants with the passing of my beloved mentor and friend Len Becker.

I first met Len when he was appointed  as Bar Counsel in late 1991. He came from a distinguished career at Arnold & Porter after clerking for Judge Edward Weinfeld and Associate Justice Potter Stewart. 

When we learned of his appointment, those of us at Bar Counsel were quite concerned about having a boss with the intellectual firepower that Len brought and with good reason. He demanded excellence and would settle for nothing less. When my work did not meet his exacting standards it was always rejected with the same comment

This disposition is not ready for prime time.

He was the most incisive and hard-working lawyer I have ever known.

He was a man of rigorous honesty and integrity.

He left the Bar Counsel job in deep frustration with a system that did not want or seek quality lawyering in the prosecution of wayward attorneys.

No other person had the lasting professional impact on me of Len. He made me a better thinker, better writer and better lawyer. He led by his example of hard work and dedication to excellence.

From my tribute last July 

He made the lawyers who cared to learn better lawyers themselves. He dramatically improved the quality of my own writing, a hard task since I thought I already knew it all. 

Of utmost importance, he was willing and able to take on the Board on Professional Responsibility when the need arose.

And he left (this is my opinion) because of the intractable problems that bar politics injected (and continues to inject) into the D.C. system. 

His seven years represent the high point of the Office of Bar Counsel in terms of the quality of the work done and the professionalism of the office.

My own debt to him will never be repaid. 

One of his first acts as Bar Counsel was to hire Julia Porter as an Assistant Bar Counsel. For that hire alone I would be eternally grateful.

If a person is judged by their personal integrity and positive impact on others, Len lived a righteous life and has more than earned his eternal rest. 

Thank you and God’s speed. 

With love, gratitude and respect,

Mike Frisch