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Full Description
A rare and evocative memoir of a respected constitutional scholar, dedicated public servant, political reformer, and facilitator of peace in the land of his ancestors.
John D. Feerick's life has all the elements of a modern Horatio Alger story: the poor boy who achieves success by dint of his hard work. But Feerick brought other elements to that classic American success story: his deep religious faith, his integrity, and his paramount concern for social justice. In his memoir, That Further Shore, Feerick shares his inspiring story, from his humble beginnings: born to immigrant parents in the South Bronx, going on to practice law, participating in framing the U.S. Constitution's Twenty-Fifth Amendment, serving as dean of Fordham Law, and serving as President of the New York City Bar Association and chair of state commissions on government integrity.
Beginning with Feerick's ancestry and early life experiences, including a detailed genealogical description of Feerick's Irish ancestors in County Mayo and his laborious quest to identify them and their relationships with one another, the book then presents an evocative survey of the now-vanished world of a working-class Irish Catholic neighborhood in the South Bronx. Feerick's account of how he financed his education from elementary school through law school is a moving tribute to the immigrant work ethic that he inherited from his parents and shared with many young Americans of his generation. The book then traces Feerick's career as a lawyer and how he gave up a lucrative partnership in a prestigious New York City law firm at an early age to accept the office of Dean of the Fordham School of Law at a fraction of his previous income because he felt it was time to give back something to the world.
John Feerick has consistently shown his commitment to the law as a vocation as well as a profession by his efforts to protect the rights of the poor, to enable minorities to achieve their rightful places in American society, and to combat political corruption. That Further Shore is an inspiring memoir of how one humble and decent man helped to make America a more just and equitable society.
Contents
Foreword by Msgr. Thomas J. Shelley xi
Preface xv
Introduction 1
Part I: My Family and Its Irish History
1 What's in a Name? 9
2 Mom's and Pop's Origins 14
3 Mom's and Pop's Childhood 23
Part II: A New Home in America
4 An American Odyssey 29
5 Settling in the Bronx 38
6 Growing Up in an Irish Immigrant Family 46
7 Uncle Pat, Our Life- Long Companion 58
8 Memories of the Nearby House That Ruth Built 68
Part III: My Salad Days
9 St. Angela Merici Grammar School, 1942-1950 75
10 Bishop Dubois High School, 1950-1954 80
11 Fordham College, 1954-1958 83
12 Fordham Law School, 1958-1961 90
13 Meeting the Love of My Life: Emalie 97
Part IV: Career as a Lawyer
14 Learning in Part- Time Jobs 107
15 Joining a Small Law Firm—Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom 113
16 Leaving Skadden 126
17 Becoming a Law School Dean: An Overview 132
18 Commitments, Challenges, and Special Moments 147
19 The Many Hats a Dean Wears 154
20 Fordham Law Goes to Ireland 162
21 Leaving the Deanship 171
22 Becoming a Classroom Teacher 176
Part V: The Vocation of Service
23 Serving Others 187
24 The Voluntary Bar 194
25 Public Service: From Carey to Koch to Cuomo to Bloomberg to Kaye 199
26 Boards of Not-for-Profit, Charitable, and Public Institutions 208
27 The Catholic Church 213
Part VI: Peacemaking and Problem- Solving
28 Learning the Art of Conflict Resolution 223
29 Conflicts in the Public Eye 229
Part VII: Constitutional Endeavors
30 Presidential Succession 239
31 The Electoral College System 270
32 Other Constitutional Opportunities 280
Part VIII: The World of Government Ethics
33 The New York State Commission on Government Integrity 289
34 New York State Ethics Commission 297
35 The New York State Public Integrity Commission 304
Part IX: Marriage and Family
36 Our Growing Family 315
37 Deaths in the Family 324
38 Roses in December—Rediscovering Mom and Pop 335
39 My Family: Immediate and Extended 343
Part X: On a Personal Note
40 What I Learned 353
41 Advice to My Grandchildren 358
Appendixes
A Non-Feerick Surnames Associated with My Family 365
B My Dean's Reports 368
C Remarks on Receiving the ABA Medal 380
Acknowledgments 387
Notes 389
Index 419
Photographs follow pages 142 and 302
