By Stephen Anderson

Fred Herzog, age 100, was dean of two law schools

Born in Prague and raised in Austria, Friedrich Fred Herzog fled after German troops invaded and eventually became dean of both the Chicago-Kent College of Law and The John Marshall Law School.

Mr. Herzog, who died March 21 at 100 of pneumonia in Swedish Covenant Hospital, earned his first law degree in 1931 from the University of Graz. He practiced in Graz until 1935, when he was appointed a judge for life in Austria.

Banished from that position in 1938 by Nazis, he was a refugee in Sweden for two years before entering the United States. He received a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1942.

Mr. Herzog practiced in Chicago and edited legal service publications before joining the Chicago-Kent faculty in 1947 as a professor and later as dean.

From 1963 to 1972, he was special counsel to the Metropolitan Sanitary District in environmental cases, and in 1972 became first assistant Illinois attorney general.

Serving on a 1976 search committee for a new dean at John Marshall, Mr. Herzog was convinced to take the job, and he served until 1983. He also was interim dean in 1990-91, and he maintained an office at the law school as dean emeritus until he was 99.

The John Marshall Alumni Association presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to him last year, and he received the Decalogue Society Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Survivors include a son, David R. Herzog of Herzog & Schwartz, Chicago.

Retired justice R.E. Pincham fought causes of injustice

“I feel I’ve been privileged, honored to go to law school. The system is good. It’s up to you to make it better, to be an advocate, to stand up for that which is right, change that which is wrong, and make it work.”

R. Eugene Pincham in the new book, “Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers.”

In an introduction of Chicago attorney R. Eugene Pincham last December, Appellate Justice P. Scott Neville observed that “the best steel comes out of the hottest fire.”

The occasion was presentation to Mr. Pincham of the Elmer Gertz Award by the ISBA Human Rights Section Council and the Blind Service Association. Neville called him “a bridge over troubled waters” and “a real lawyer.”

In response, the award recipient said that Gertz was “the moral conscience of the legal profession” and that he would “try to deserve the honor.”

A retired appellate justice, defense attorney and civil rights activist, Mr. Pincham died April 3 at age 82 of cancer in his home.

Early experiences with poverty and racial discrimination helped shape his career. Born in Chicago, he grew up in Alabama, where he picked cotton from dawn to dusk for 10 cents an hour. He described his family as “po” – not poor – because they couldn’t even afford the other two letters.

While attending the Northwestern University School of Law, where he graduated in 1951, he shined shoes, washed dishes and waited tables.

Mr. Pincham was a trial and appeals attorney in state and federal courts for 25 years with the firm that became Evins, Pincham, Fowlkes & Cooper.

He was elected a Cook County judge in 1976, and to the Appellate Court in 1984. He retired five years later to run for Cook County Board president. He also ran for mayor in 1991.

A frequent speaker at the ISBA Minority Attorneys Conference and the Solo and Small Firm Conference, Mr. Pincham emphasized the essentials of successful trial practice with folksy anecdotes from his many years before judges and juries.

He often recommended that a lawyer act as “a 13th juror” to make sure his or her case is understood, and he usually had his wife sit in the courtroom to let him know whether he was telling his story convincingly.

Survivors include a son, former Chicago attorney Robert Eugene Pincham Jr.

Egan: Prosecutor, jurist

Retired appellate justice Edward J. Egan, who was a special prosecutor from 2002 to 2006 investigating Chicago police brutality allegations, died March 26 at age 84 of cancer in his Orland Park home.

Mr. Egan graduated in 1949 from the DePaul University College of Law after Army service during World War II. He participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge.

From 1951 to 1958, he was as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney, and in 1960 became first assistant to State’s Attorney Daniel P. Ward.

Mr. Egan was elected to the circuit court in 1964 and was appointed to the Appellate Court in 1972. Elected to the appeals court in 1974, he left to run for state’s attorney but lost and returned to private practice. He also was counsel to the Chicago Transit Authority from 1977 to 1981.

Appointed in 1983 to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Mr. Egan was again appointed to the Appellate Court in 1988 and was elected in 1990. He stepped down in 1996 and resumed private practice.

Survivors include a son, Matthew J. Egan of Pretzel & Stouffer, Chicago, and Cook County Judge Lynn M. Egan.

Richard Cadagin

Retired 7th Circuit judge Richard J. Cadagin of Springfield died April 4 at 72 in St. John’s Hospital. A 1965 graduate of the St. Louis University School of Law, he served in the Army from 1954 to 1962.

An assistant city attorney and public defender wile in private practice, Mr. Cadagin was elected to the Sangamon County Board in 1969.

Appointed an associate judge the next year, he was elected to the circuit court in 1978 and was chief judge in 1992-93. He retired from the bench in 1995.

A past president of the Sangamon County Bar Association and the American Business Club, Mr. Cadagin also was president of Peter F. Rossiter Sons and Daughters of Erin.

Survivors include a brother, Springfield attorney Donald M. Cadagin.

Walter Dahl

Retired Cook County judge Walter Preston Dahl died March 24 at age 85 of cancer and pneumonia in The Moorings of Arlington Heights. He was of counsel to Dahl & Bonadies in Chicago.

Joining the Marine Corps after high school, Mr. Dahl saw combat in the Pacific during World War II. Despite lacking a college degree, he graduated in 1948 from the Northwestern University School of Law.

Mr. Dahl was a partner in D’Angelo, Dahl & Geocaris until 1962, when he was elected to the superior court and was assigned to the Criminal Division. He was presiding judge of Juvenile Court from 1966 to 1969, of the Chancery Division until 1979, and of the Probate Division until his 1983 retirement.

Survivors include a son James E. Dahl of Dalh & Bonadies.

Simon Friedman

Retired 7th Circuit judge Simon Lee Friedman, a past president of the Sangamon County Bar Association, died March 13 at age 86 in the Regency Nursing Home. He was of counsel to Brown, Hay & Stephens, Springfield.

A 1944 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Mr. Friedman practiced with John H. Curren and H. Keith Dressendorfer until 1968, when he became a partner in Ensel, Jones, Blanchard & Friedman.

He also was an assistant legal adviser to the state superintendent of public instruction, attorney for the state election commission, and a hearing officer for the Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Friedman was appointed to the court in 1973 and subsequently elected. During his 18 years on the bench, he was chief judge for two years. He retired from the bench in 1990.

An honorary member of the Inns of Court, he received the Judge Harlington Wood Jr. Legal Pioneer Award in 2006 from the Sangamon County Bar. In 2007, Mr. Friedman was honored by the Illinois Bar Foundation as a Pillar of the Bar.

He was business manager for many years of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, in which he played the viola for 25 years.

Raymond Geraldson

Retired Chicago attorney Raymond I. Geraldson of Wilmette died March 28 at age 98 in Lake Geneva, Wis. A 1935 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, he was a founding partner in Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he also received a master of laws degree from Columbia University in 1936, and held honorary degrees from American University and Kendall College.

Mr. Geraldson was a delegate to the International Conference of the Red Cross in 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland, and a lecturer in an International Humanitarian Law Seminar in 1987 in Beining, China.

He served on the board of directors of the American Judicature Society from 1978 to 1982.

Survivors include a son, Raymond I. Geraldson Jr. of Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson, Chicago, and a grandson, Raymond I. Geraldson III of Bischoff & Associates, Evanston.

Robert Mann

Chicago attorney and former state legislator Robert Emanuel Mann died March 26 at age 79 of pneumonia in Provident Hospital. He was a 1956 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School.

Mr. Mann served eight terms in the House of Representatives from 1962 to 1978 and received several best legislator awards. In addition to his law practice, he taught business law at the University of Chicago, where he had a master’s degree in business administration.

James O’Malley

Cook County Judge James P. O’Malley of the 5th Municipal District died April 1 at age 53 of throat cancer. A 1986 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he had been an adult probation officer for 10 prior years.

Mr. O’Malley was a sole practitioner in Oak Park, and hearing officer for the City of Chicago, until his appointment to the circuit court in 1995. He was elected in 1996.

Earle Ryan

Toluca attorney Earle Vincent “Mickey” Ryan, a past president of the Peoria County Bar Association, died March 8 at age 75 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Streator.

After Army service from 1954 to 1956, Mr. Ryan graduated in 1959 from the University of Illinois College of Law. He was a founder of the Toluca Business Association.

Frank Steponate

Chicago attorney Frank T. Steponate, a partner in Steponate & Wasko, died in March at age 72. A devoted member of the Chicago Bar Association Christmas Spirits show for many years, he chaired the entertainment committee in 1986.

Mr. Steponate received the Horse’s Ass Award in 1986 for outstanding performance the previous year. During his years in the cast, he portrayed a wide range of celebrities that included, Madonna, Mike Ditka, Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra and Chiang Kai-shek.

A former member of the Male Dancing Chorus, he was given its Titular Head Award in 1988 for also appearing as a killer bee, a cicada, a koala bear, a dog, a shark and a fish.