R.I.P. ARTHUR FROMMER

The November 20, 2024 print edition of the New York Times contains a lengthy and informative obituary of Arthur Frommer, the author of "Europe on Five Dollars a Day" and the successful publisher of a series of books and other media about the low-cost travel industry.

Arthur played a significant role in my professional life.

In 1961, Arthur was a mid-level litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, then considered to be a "large" law firm — with fewer than 50 lawyers spread out among Corporate, Tax, Trust and Estates, Entertainment, and Litigation departments. 

But litigating was not Frommer’s only job. He was also the head of a growing publishing entity involving books and other media regarding low-cost travel. The competing pressures of these two occupations overwhelmed him, and he informed Paul, Weiss that the publishing industry was his first choice and he was leaving the law.

That would leave the Paul, Weiss litigation department with a large hole in the center of the line.

 At that time I had departed a small law firm where I was a third-year associate: I had been recalled by the army as a result of the crisis over the construction of the Berlin wall. A law school classmate, who was also a litigation associate at the Paul, Weiss, sent me a note about Arthur’s forthcoming departure. At my urging, he arranged an interview for me during a Christmas furlough. Two months later, my military tour of duty ended, I received an offer from Paul, Weiss, and I succeeded to Arthur’s desk and his portfolio of litigation assignments!

I will never forget my first major Frommer leftover. 

The firm represented Herman Levin, the producer of the Broadway show My Fair Lady, which had a historic six-year run. But when ticket sales slowed, the theater owner, Stanley Stahl, shut down advance ticket sales and ultimately evicted the show. Prior to leaving Paul Weiss, Frommer, representing Levin, sued Stahl, but lost. 

My first assignment as Arthur’s successor was to obtain a reversal and we did so, ultimately resulting in an appeal court holding that theatre owner Stahl had breached his contract with producer Levin. 

So I ended my first year at Paul, Weiss, representing plaintiff Herman Levin in a non-jury trial for damages for breach of contract. It was me and Rifkind representing Levin versus the lawyers for Stahl. 

Pre-trial, it was my job to take all the depositions. 

There were four witnesses at the trial. The plan was for me to do the direct examination of our accountant and the cross-examination of Stahl’s accountant. Rifkind was to do our client's direct examination and cross-examine theater-owner Stahl.

In court, all went as planned until the last witness, Stahl, was called to the stand by his counsel.  I was relaxed during the start of his direct. There was nothing more for me to do. This was Rifkind's witness. 

But halfway through Stahl’s direct, Rifkind poked me in the ribs and said, “Martin, why don't you take the cross on this!" Yikes! Cross is all about preparation, and I certainly had not prepared for this cross, but there was no way I was going to argue with the boss. If ever there was a time to put on my big-boy lawyer pants, this was it.

All was not lost. I had taken Stahl’s deposition. Like so many “important” people, he had been cranky at the deposition table and was especially cranky at trial when being crossed by this young twerp. I brought out his deposition testimony that when he shut off advanced sales, he failed to inform would-be My Fair Lady ticket buyers of the name of the theatre to which the show was moving. Indeed, he instructed his box office personnel to reject their telephone calls and visits to the box office, and he failed to post or publish any form of notice as to where customers could go to buy tickets to Levin’s show. At the deposition I said to Stahl: "In fact, sir, you really didn't give a damn whether any of those customers ever got to buy tickets to My Fair Lady, correct?" And he snapped back, "Correct." I used that as the centerpiece of the rest of my cross, and we got a favorable damage verdict from the judge.

Subsequently, I actually represented Arthur when a Greek court found him guilty of libeling restaurant “A” by reporting that restaurant “B” was better.  We did OK on that one too, even though, with Arthur’s blessing, my trip to Greece cost more than five dollars a day.

Arthur was a good guy, smart, pleasant, and as luck would have it, he turned out to be the foundation stone of my career at a remarkable law firm.

A bientot.

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