John Slate

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John Slate
Born
John Hampton Slate

1913 (1913)
Wind Gap, Pennsylvania
DiedSeptember 19, 1967(1967-09-19) (aged 53–54)
New York City, United States
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJohn H. Slate
Alma materColumbia University (BA, LLB)
Occupationlawyer
EmployerSkadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Known forco-founding Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Spouse(s)Mary Ellen Sams Slate
ChildrenKathy (Kate) Slate, Megan Lloyd Slate, Nancy Hampton Slate, John Hampton Slate III

John Hampton Slate[1] (1913 – September 19, 1967) was an American aviation lawyer and founding partner of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.[2]

Biography[]

Slate was born in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania in 1913. His father was a civil engineer who worked in South America and left Slate with the wife's parents, who taught him Welsh before he spoke English. The family moved to Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, where he graduated from high school. Slate received an A.B. from Columbia College in 1935, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and as salutatorian of his class.[3][4]

He joined the board of Jester of Columbia, where he worked with Ralph de Toledano, Ad Reinhardt, Herman Wouk, and Robert Lax.[5] He also befriended Thomas Merton, who hired him as legal advisor.[6][7]

Slate turned down a partial scholarship from Harvard Law School and received a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1938. He was an editor of the Columbia Law Review and was admitted to the New York State Bar the year he graduated from law school.[2][8]

In 1938, he became an associate of Root, Clark, Buckner & Ballantine in New York.[2]

On April Fools' Day in 1948, Slate co-founded Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom with lawyers Marshall Skadden and Les Arps.[9] Skadden won a coin toss with Slate and had his name become the shorthand of the firm.[3] Slate's field was aviation law and brought in Idlewild Airport as his first client. However, the bulk of his work was for the general counsel of Pan-American World Airways, Henry Friendly, who later became circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[3] Slate's work for Pan Am represented half of the firm's annual income, eventually leading to other airline work such as with Aeronaves De Mexico, and clients that included a former President of Mexico.[3]

In 1952, Slate was a special Assistant Attorney General of New York and from 1954 to 1957, he was a member of the United States Air Fleet Advisory Group.[2]

Personal life[]

Described as mischievous, moody, and conspicuously informal, Slate contributed humorous pieces to Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Saturday Evening Post.[3]

Slate died of a heart attack on September 19, 1967 in St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York.[2] He was survived by his widow, Mary Ellen Sams Slate, three daughters (Kathy, Megan, and Nancy), and a son, John Hampton Slate III, a graphic artist.[10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Megan Lloyd Slate Wed To Matthew L. Greene". The New York Times. 1979-09-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e "JOHN H. SLATE, 54; AVIATION LAWYER; Member of Firm Here Dies Also Magazine Writer". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e Caplan, Lincoln (1994-10-30). Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-374-52424-1.
  4. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 12 November 1934 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  5. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 1 May 1936 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  6. ^ Biddle, Arthur W. (2001-01-01). When Prophecy Still Had a Voice: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Robert Lax. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2168-0.
  7. ^ "Slate, John H., 1913-1967 - Correspondence". merton.org. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  8. ^ Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development; Columbia College (Columbia University) (1967–69). Columbia College today. Columbia University Libraries. New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  9. ^ "Overview | About | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP". www.skadden.com. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  10. ^ "John Slate Weds Lisa Hampton". The New York Times. 1979-06-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  11. ^ "John Hampton Slate III Obituary (2007) Denver Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
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