Greenberg Traurig co-founder Traurig dies at 93

Robert H. Traurig, co-founder of powerhouse Miami law firm Greenberg Traurig, died July 17 at the age of 93.

He co-founded the law firm in 1967 with Mel Greenberg and Larry Hoffman under the name Greenberg Traurig Hoffman.

"This is a tremendous loss for the community, the legal profession, and for me, personally,” said Hoffman, the founding chairman of Greenberg Traurig. “Bob was unique and a huge influence on all of us at the law firm – lawyers and staff. His accomplishments and contributions to our firm, the legal profession and our community will remain as standards always. Mere words cannot do justice to his role in all our lives and the personal loss we all feel."

The firm ranked first on the Business Journal’s 2018 list of the region's largest law firms with 297 attorneys. It had a staff of 680 people in five local offices.

Worldwide, Greenberg Traurig has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices.

Traurig was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and moved with his family to Miami in 1939, when he was still a teenager. After graduating from Miami Senior High School, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a communications operator from 1943 to 1946, a time that included World War II.

He then earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a law degree from the University of Miami, but Traurig didn’t practice law immediately. He served with the Navy in the Korean War from 1951 to 1952.

Traurig established his own practice in 1954 and focused on real estate and corporate law. Thirteen years later, he co-founded Greenberg Traurig Hoffman with two of his “lunch buddies.” The firm has represented many of South Florida’s largest developers in conducting deals and securing building approvals.

Greenberg Traurig Senior Chairman Cesar L. Alvarez said Traurig’s community service made a strong impression on him.

"Once when he was requesting donations for a charity … I handed him a check and said, trying to impress him, ‘I wrote this check until it hurt,'" Alvarez said. "He looked at me saddened, tore up the check, and said: ‘Cesar, I only want you to write a check if it makes you feel good.'"

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After thinking about it long and hard, Alvarez wrote a bigger check that he presented to Traurig the next day, he said.

"From that simple interaction, I learned a very special lesson about giving that carries with me today and opened the door to my community involvement,” Alvarez said.

Traurig was awarded the Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s 2017 Jay Malina Award for community service, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Sand in My Shoes award for business leadership, and the Friend of Israel Humanitarian Award from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Over the years, he helped raise funds for the Historical Association of Southern Florida, the Frost Museum of Science, the Greater Miami Opera, the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and the New World Symphony. He previously served as the chairman of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

“As a forefather of the firm, Bob took many of us under his wing and taught us how to be successful lawyers,” said Matthew B. Gorson, senior chairman of the firm. “Not only did he work harder than anybody else did, he had many causes and he would see you and ask you to help. He was our role model, and will continue to be.”

The Traurig family declined to disclose the cause of his death.

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2018/07/17/greenbergtraurig-co-founder-traurigdies-at-93.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028852&forum_id=2#36448854)

Um, pretty sure it was just being old as fuk

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028852&forum_id=2#36448955)