by Jeffrey Stanley

“If you had asked me when I was young who I admired, it was lawyers and government officials,” says alumnus Stephen J. Friedman ’55, now Dean of Pace University School of Law. “It was the combination of law and public service that appealed to me.”

Still, he didn’t know for sure that he wanted to become a lawyer—that would take a few more years. After graduating from Brooklyn Friends, Friedman went to Princeton University. Harvard Law School followed, where he won the prestigious Sears Prize and served as editor of the Law Review. As at Princeton, he graduated magna cum laude.

Friedman went on to edit other law-related publications, to serve as law clerk to a United States Supreme Court Justice and to teach part-time at Columbia University. He served a short stint as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He then became executive vice president and general counsel at EF Hutton and at Equitable Life Assurance.

That wasn’t enough to keep him busy. Throughout his stellar career he has also found time to remain involved in leadership positions at nonprofit organizations, currently serving as chairman of a proposed Asian University for Women. He also is a past chairman and present trustee of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), a position that he fell into quite by chance.

He recounted that particular story with a bit of amusement. “The fellow who was the CEO of Equitable was also the chairman of ABT. He had arranged a big gift from Equitable for ABT. The day I arrived at Equitable he was fired. They needed someone to replace him on the ABT board, mainly to keep an eye on our gift to make sure it was spent properly.” Friedman, a longtime ballet fan, jumped at the chance, volunteering for the job. “I’ve been there for more than 20 years.”

He also is a member of the esteemed and sometimes controversial Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which he describes as “a combination of think tank and membership organization.” The nonpartisan group started after the First World War. “It grew out of support, particularly on the East Coast, from people like David Rockefeller who didn’t want the US to return to isolationism.” Over the years, Friedman has chaired CFR studies on war to peace transitions and humanitarian efforts for Afghan and Palestinian refugees.

Friedman began at BFS in fifth grade with what he describes as a minor learning disability. “Everyone told me I was being careless. I made a huge number of computational errors,” he said, describing his problem. He was at the school for two years before he got his first good grade, an accomplishment that gave him a tremendous ego boost.

He remembers that milestone like it was yesterday. It was in his seventh grade English class. “I got an A- on a book report on one of C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower books. I was more surprised than the teacher!” he quipped. By his senior year he was at the top of his class and a member of the varsity basketball team. “That was important to me,” he said of making the basketball team. “High school kids are highly competitive, but Friends was a mutually supportive place.”

Friedman grew up in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and today lives in Manhattan. His daughter, who lives in London with her three children, is the fashion editor of the Financial Times. His son, an investment banker at Lazard, was a White House Fellow. Friedman proudly points out that his son had held no mere internship. “It’s a prestigious fellowship for mid-career people.”

Reflecting on his overall development at BFS, Friedman’s summary was simple. “The key to educating children with learning disabilities is to maintain their confidence while they learn to cope with it. Friends was a supportive environment.” He also credits the school with instilling in him a respect for others’ views, a sense that he should take risks, and the belief that he could accomplish much in life. He has certainly done so, and has yet to slow down.

Last year he was appointed Dean of Pace University School of Law in White Plains. Friedman explains the unexpected turn of events that led him to the position. “I was facing mandatory retirement at my law firm. Academia was nowhere on my radar screen at all. I had thought I wanted to run an international nonprofit.”

Some friends recommended that he look into teaching law so he began talking to search committees. It turned out that being dean of a law school fit nicely with his résumé. For example the Practicing Law Institute, a nonprofit for which he remains president, teaches 40,000 lawyers a year around the country at training centers and through webcasts. “It’s a lot bigger than the law school,” Friedman observes.

Still, given that most deans come up the ladder through many grueling years of teaching on the front lines, Friedman remains humble. “I realized that Pace Law School was a place where I could make a difference. I am fortunate to be here.”