Leonard Baum

Len’s story was a New York story. He was born in 1941 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to Lilly and

Maurice Baum, Jewish immigrants who had fled persecution in Europe for refuge in America.

Len was their second of three children; he was particularly close with his younger sister,

Rosalyn, who was born with severe special needs.

Len lost his father at the age of 10, and while his sister and mother spent time navigating health

issues and hospitalizations, he moved around: living with family members and in orphanages,

relying on the generosity of others—and, he would be quick to point out, New York’s social

safety net—for food and shelter. He promised himself that if he ever made it out of Brooklyn, he

would pay their kindness forward.

Still, despite the turbulence of his upbringing, Len was an excellent student. While attending

Lafayette High School, he made enough of an impression to land a scholarship to Queens

College and then New York University, where he obtained both his Bachelor’s Degree and his

Juris Doctor. Far more importantly, while attending Lafayette High School, he made enough of

an impression to land a date with Elizabeth Korman; half a decade, a dramatic pre-prom

break-up, and a chance encounter in the park later, she finally agreed to marry him. They were

wed at Union Temple in 1963.

After graduating from law school in 1965, Len began his career at Phillips Nizer, Benjamin, Krim

& Ballon, where he was a mentee of the famed trial lawyer Louis Nizer. Widely recognized for

his excellence in litigation, including complex commercial and fiduciary matters, he went on to

become a partner at several major New York law firms before joining Proskauer Rose LLP,

where he served as Counsel until his retirement.

Len and Elizabeth started a family, just as the two were starting their careers. Their daughter

Jennifer was born in Brooklyn in 1966, and named in the same temple where her parents were

wed. Douglas followed next, and they then moved to Merrick, Long Island where they welcomed

David and raised their family.

As a teen, Len found respite on the water, learning from fisherman how to catch striped bass in

Sheepshead Bay and under the Whitestone Bridge. He supported his education and his family

with his catchings, and by working at Capital Fishing and Tackle. By the time he was a young

adult, that escape had developed into a full-blown obsession. An avid angler, he enjoyed

nothing more than wading into a rushing river, and standing there, for hours, hoping to reel in a

catch with one of his handmade flies. He occasionally convinced his children and wife to join

him on the water; among his proudest moments was when Elizabeth was featured in Atlantic

Salmon Journal for her ice-fishing prowess in Siberia. Over the years, Len took up a number of

new hobbies: wine-collecting, photography, and hunting, to name a few. He also continued to

tick countries and experiences off his bucket list: flyfishing in New Zealand, salmon fishing in

Iceland, and bonefishing in Harbor Island; dodging buffalo in Yellowstone and photographing

giraffes in South Africa; sightseeing in China and wine-tasting in Argentina—all with Elizabeth by

his side.

When his children were young adults, Len and Elizabeth moved to Chappaqua, New York. That

house became a hub for family life; many a Thanksgiving dinner and Passover Seder was spent

at the dining room table, now filled with Jennifer, Douglas, and David’s spouses, David, Heather,

and Tilly, and Len and Elizabeth’s seven grandchildren. Having been in the office during many of

his own children’s milestones, he was grateful to have a second chance to experience them with

his grandkids: to write stories about crime-solving potatoes with Sarah, shop in Paris with Emily

and Maiya, fish and hunt with Ben, talk politics and wine with Aaron, and take long walks in the

woods with Auden and Felix. He was also thrilled to have an excuse to keep the house stocked

with candy; an incorrigible sweet-tooth, he was known to polish off a gallon-bag of jelly

raspberries, sneak handfuls of Good & Plentys before dinner, and raid his children’s Halloween

stashes of anything nutty or licorice.

As he often told his family, he had come a long way from poverty in Brooklyn—and he made

good on his promise to help others rise above their circumstances too: donating to a number of

social welfare causes, the university that afforded him an education, as well as the Multiple

Myeloma Research Foundation and various Democratic candidates for office—Len “never, not

once, voted for Republican,” a statement that earned him a cameo at the 2020 DNC. He will be

missed for his wit and imagination, his legal mind and love of the outdoors, his remarkable

resilience and sharp sense of style.

Leonard Baum is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth; his children, Dr. Jennifer Gruen

(David), Douglas Baum (Heather), and David Baum (Tilly Macalister-Smith); and his

grandchildren, Sarah, Emily, Aaron, Ben, Maiya, Auden, and Felix. He was predeceased by his

parents, siblings, and beloved Aunt, Bea Kaplan.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Nature Conservancy—and have a handful

of jelly raspberries, a scoop of Cherry Garcia, and a glass of fine Burgundy—in Len’s honor.