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Ira Millstein
Born
Ira Martin Millstein

(1926-11-08)November 8, 1926
New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 13, 2024(2024-03-13) (aged 97)
Mamaroneck, New York, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BS, JD)
OccupationLawyer
Known forLongest-practicing partner in big law
Spouses
Diane Greenberg
​
​
(m. 1949; died 2010)​
Susan Marie Frame
​
​
(m. 2013, divorced)​
Children2

Ira Martin Millstein[1] (November 8, 1926 – March 13, 2024) was an American antitrust lawyer, professor, and author.[2][3] He was a senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and the longest-practicing partner in big law, according to Reuters.[4][5][6]

Biography

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Born in Manhattan on November 8, 1926, Millstein graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1943.[7][8] He graduated from Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1947 and received a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1949.[9][10]

Millstein joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 1951 and remained at the firm for the rest of his career, celebrating his 70th anniversary in the firm in 2021.[11] During his tenure at Weil, he counseled the boards of General Motors,[12] General Electric, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, WellChoice, and The Walt Disney Company among others. He also played a role in New York's financial rescue during its fiscal crisis in the 1970s.[13][14][15] Wall Street Journal described him as one of Wall Street's most powerful lawyers.[16]

Millstein served as chairman of the antitrust law section of both the American Bar Association as well as the New York State Bar Association. Governor George Pataki appointed him to chair a commission that led to the 2009 Public Authorities Reform Act of New York state.[17] He was a close friend of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, brokering a meeting between Ginsburg and Senator Orrin Hatch that eased her way to a judgeship on the D.C. Circuit.[18]

A proponent of stakeholder capitalism, he helped the Business Roundtable draft its Statement on Corporate Responsibility 1981.[2][19] He also chaired several OECD initiatives and advisory groups on improving corporate governance standards in member countries.[20] Institutional Investor called him an "éminence grise of corporate governance and prime mover of the OECD governance codes."[21] He promoted the philosophy that corporate power should be distributed beyond top executives, and that independent boards of directors could better hold corporate executives to account and remind companies of their obligations beyond profit-making, including obligations to employees and customers.[22]

Millstein was also the founding chair of The Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School, which explores how corporate governance should adapt to changing social norms and pressures.[2] He was a senior associate dean of corporate governance at Yale School of Management.[23]

Millstein was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995.[1]

From 1991 to 2000, he was the chairman of the Central Park Conservancy and remained a life trustee until his death.[24][25][26] He was also a board member of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.[27][28] He was elected chairman of the board of trustees of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2004.[29]

Personal life

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In 1949, he married Diane Greenberg, a city planner who helped Greenwich, Connecticut establish its zoning.[30] She died in 2010; the couple had two children.[7][31] In 2013, Millstein married Susan Marie Frame.[32] They lived in 930 Fifth Avenue, and later divorced.[7][33] Millstein died in Mamaroneck, New York, on March 13, 2024, at the age of 97.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ira Martin Millstein". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Ramey, Corinne (November 15, 2019). "The Boardroom Sage Who Was Into Good Governance Before It Was Cool". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  3. ^ Hoque, Imaan, Ira Millstein '43, archived from the original on January 29, 2022, retrieved January 29, 2022
  4. ^ Greene, Jenna (November 3, 2021). "Exclusive: Law firms with the youngest partners, and the oldest". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  5. ^ "Ira M. Millstein – Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP". www.weil.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Which law firms have the youngest and oldest partners?". ABA Journal. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Roberts, Sam (March 14, 2024). "Ira M. Millstein, Corporate Lawyer With Public Impact, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Ira Millstein '43". bxscience.edu. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "Ira Millstein | Millstein Center". millstein.law.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  10. ^ McCaughey, Robert (June 3, 2014). A Lever Long Enough: A History of Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science Since 1864. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-53752-0.
  11. ^ "In 70 Years at Weil, Antitrust Partner Millstein Has Seen Legal Business Transform". The American Lawyer. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. ^ Glater, Jonathan D. (December 13, 2008). "The Man Who Is Unwinding Lehman Brothers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  13. ^ Leland, John (June 23, 2016). "Society to House Papers of Felix Rohatyn, Hero in New York's Financial Rescue". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Night New York Saved Itself from Bankruptcy". The New Yorker. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Roberts, Sam (July 25, 2013). "When New York Teetered on the Brink of Bankruptcy". City Room. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Street Journal, Susanne Craig and Paul BeckettStaff Reporters of The Wall (June 20, 2002). "Ira Millstein Got Burned Trying to Broker Peace". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  17. ^ "Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 Takes Effect". NY State Senate. March 5, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  18. ^ Propper, David. "When RBG's 1980 nomination for the federal bench was in doubt, this Mamaroneck attorney got involved". The Journal News. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  19. ^ "Opinion | Stakeholder Capitalism Is Slowly Advancing". Wall Street Journal. August 23, 2021. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  20. ^ "OECD Secretary General announces launch of a high-level business group initiative to promote better boardroom practices. – OECD". www.oecd.org. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  21. ^ Shinn, James (April 22, 2015). "Big Asset Shift of Japan's GPIF Is Secret Weapon of Abenomics". Institutional Investor. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  22. ^ Mulvaney, Erin. "Wall Street Lawyer Who Held Executive Power to Account: 'It Was Nearly a Revolution'". WSJ. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  23. ^ "Yale School of Management Renames Corporate Governance Center in Honor of Ira M. Millstein; Announces The Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance | Yale School of Management". som.yale.edu. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "Weil's Ira Millstein Honored for Role in Revitalizing NY's Central Park – Awards and Recognitions – Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP". www.weil.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  25. ^ "Lower Manhattan Development Corporation – ATTORNEY IRA M. MILLSTEIN TO JOIN LOWER MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AS COUNSEL TO THE BOARD". www.renewnyc.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  26. ^ Chang, Sophia (April 9, 2021). "Central Park Conservancy Wants To Take Over Wollman Ice Rink". Gothamist. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  27. ^ "Ira M. Millstein | National September 11 Memorial & Museum". www.911memorial.org. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  28. ^ Bagli, Charles V. (September 8, 2012). "Dispute Over Costs Delays Opening of 9/11 Museum". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  29. ^ "Ira M. Millstein, Attorney and Expert in Corporate Governance, Elected Chairperson of the Board of Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Michael F. Price, Mutual Funds Pioneer, Elected Chair of Executive Committee". Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  30. ^ Oser, Alan S.; Times, Special To the New York (April 30, 1982). "ABOUT REAL ESTATE; TOWN HOUSE DEVELOPMENT GOING UP IN MAMARONECK". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  31. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths MILLSTEIN, DIANE G". query.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  32. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. (November 10, 2013). "Daughter Knows Best". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  33. ^ Gould, Jennifer (October 6, 2021). "Top attorney Ira Millstein puts NYC home on market for bargain $2.3M". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
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