'The Greatest Day of My Life" by the Hon. Leonard L. Finz is a truly inspiring autobiographical look into an incredibly talented human being.
I first met Judge Finz four decades ago as a young attorney when I joined the Queens County Bar Association during my final year of law school. Shortly thereafter, I became an active member of the Brandeis Association of Queens, an organization of Jewish Lawyers and Judges, founded by Judge Finz in 1968 because "there was no organization that dealt solely with lawyers of the Jewish faith." I was proud to become its president in 1982 and continue to serve as a member of the board. As a result of the judge's foresight at its inception, the Brandeis Association is a vital partner among the various ethnic and religious bar associations throughout the city and state of New York, and the country. It became the model for other such Jewish associations to follow suit. In 1974, Judge Finz became Honorary Chairman of the Board and remains active to this day.
Over the years, I became aware of the judge's experiences as an entertainer, politician, judge and trial lawyer extraordinaire. However, until I read his book, I did not realize or appreciate the depth of the talents and abilities he had in every aspect of his multifaceted life. This easy to read memoir, of a fascinating success story, holds your interest on every page.
Proud family man, and truly devoted husband to his recently departed wife, Pearl, the judge focuses on the ups and downs of his nine decades, with an emphasis on his service to this great country that he loves and the personal rewards he derived from that admirable service.
Every section of this book is filled with interesting, factual and humorous episodes that enlighten the reader of a life that most of us can only dream of. The youngest Civil Court judge at the time he was sworn in, he describes his personal "dilemma" several years later of having to choose between the security of remaining on the bench as a Supreme Court Justice "with an uncertain financial future," or accepting an offer to go into practice with a very prominent trial attorney.
As a retired judge and attorney, I was enthralled by Judge Finz' legal acumen both as a judge and an attorney. This book is replete with example after example of first impression cases that resulted in huge monetary victories for the judge's clients, as well as changes in the law and the mindset of injured litigants versus major corporations. They are the modern day stories of David against Goliath with substantial victories favorable to the little guys represented by the judge against the big guy, multimillion dollar corporations.