NYCLA Mourns the Passing of the Honorable Harold Baer Jr.
The New York County Lawyers’ Association mourns the passing of its distinguished past president, Hon. Harold Baer Jr., United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Judge Baer joined NYCLA in 1959 and served as our president from 1979 to 1981. Both before and after his presidency, Judge Baer contributed to the life of Association over many years and in many ways.
Among numerous other positions, he served on the Committee on Nominations, the Northeast Business Law Center, the CLE Institute, the Task Force to Increase Diversity in the Legal Profession, and, most recently, the Working Group on Mandatory Reporting of Voluntary Pro Bono—a position he held at the time of his death. He also represented NYCLA in both the American Bar Association and New York State Bar Association House of Delegates. In 1989, Judge Baer and his wife, Dr. Suzanne Baer, established NYCLA’s Summer Minority Judicial Internship Program, which has now provided summer internships with stipends for almost 200 minority law students with state and federal judges. In 2009 the program was renamed the Hon. Harold Baer and Dr. Suzanne Baer Minority Judicial Internship Program to honor their leadership.
Also while he was NYCLA’s president, Judge Baer organized the Network of Bar Leaders, a coalition of more than 50 bar associations that remains a strong voice for the organized bar. In 2007, NYCLA honored Judge Baer’s devotion to the bench and bar with both the Boris Kostelanetz President’s Medal and the Capozzoli Gavel Award. Judge Baer was a visionary leader and a steadfast friend of our Association.
We will miss him.