The results discussed in this book, achieved by the firm that carries my name, are the product of the enormous skill, hard work, and dedication of the people who make up that firm. Some of those people are mentioned in this book. Others are not, because of space considerations or the vagaries of the cases with which they have been involved, but that should not be interpreted as an indication that their contributions have not been substantial. They have been and continue to be so.
And it’s not just the client-facing people here. As anyone who has dealt with me knows, I could not do my job without my recently-retired executive assistant of more than two decades, Stephanie Bruscoli and my new executive assistant Nicole Morneault. And when I am in New York, the same goes for Anne George, who started working for me while we were at Wickes together before I started the firm. We have worked together for approximately thirty years. Then there is Ron Novak, my CFO and right arm; Patt Carney, my recently-retired long-term controller and Nop Meevasin and their staff; and Eric Carr and David Salinas, who head our IT group and keep things running.
When I was writing my last book, my wife Nancy asked who would get the dedication. I jokingly answered, “My father. He is my mentor,” which is true. I met Nancy when she was a freshman and I was a sophomore at the University of Maryland at College Park. We have been together ever since. After all our years together, she took me seriously and was a bit hurt. Of course, I was going to dedicate it to her, my wife and lifelong best friend, just as I have dedicated this book to her.
Nancy has put up with my seemingly never-ending evening and weekend work, travel that has left her alone for days and nights on end, and parent-teacher nights where she was the only parent who showed up. She and my three daughters—Julie, Sheri, and Alison—have made a lot of sacrifices to allow me to pursue my passion and my career. And I am eternally grateful for their sacrifices and for their being in my life—now with their husbands, Terry, Kevin, and Jesse, and most important of all, my grandchildren. I have two sets of twin granddaughters—one set from each of my older daughters: Sarah and Hannah, identical twins, and Stella and Layla, fraternal twins; plus two grandsons, Matthew and Oliver, one each from the same daughters, and, very recently, Anabelle Leilani, from my youngest, Alison.
People have asked me why I still work this hard. The answer is I love what I do. I love the challenge. I love helping people right wrongs (I know that sounds corny). I love the challenge and the battle. When I stop liking what I do, then I will retire. Having said that, my father will turn ninety-two a few months after I turn in this manuscript and is still going into the office of J. Herman Sitrick Advertising every day. Throughout much of my career, I would call my father every day for advice. I almost always took it and have learned a great deal from him in business and in life. I still talk with him nearly every day no matter where in the world I happen to be.
The other person who deserves credit is my mother. Unfortunately, she passed away before the publication of this book. When I was a young boy and would tell her I felt sick and didn’t want to go to school, she would tell me, “Get out of bed and go to school. Work through it.” Truth be told, at five feet tall, she was the tougher of my two parents. Another life lesson: tough it out. My parents—especially my mom—were the personification of tough love, though if truth be told it was lots more love than “tough.” I owe enormous gratitude to my parents, as well as my late in-laws, Florence and Seymour Eiseman.
There are lots of other people who deserve my thanks: my two brothers, David and Ron. Ron has served as outside general counsel for our firm, and besides the thanks I owe him and David for support as my brother, my firm and I owe Ron, along with his life and law partner Shelly, a great deal of thanks for all they have done professionally for our firm. I owe a great deal of gratitude to the colleagues with whom I have worked—especially Lew Phelps, Tony Knight, and Jeff Lloyd, the first two of whom have moved from partner to counsel and Jeff who has retired. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Members of the Firm: Jim Bates, Tom Becker, Terry Fahn, Brian Glicklich, Sallie Hofmeister, Anita Marie Laurie, Seth Lubove, Tom Mulligan, Stuart Pfeifer, Angela Pruitt, Wendy Tanka, Tammy Taylor, Mark Veverka as well as Lt. General Steve Blum (USA ret.) and Holly Baird—not to mention clients, lawyers, and myriad others. I have been fortunate to work with and learn from so many smart and wonderful people.
And of course, a special thank you to Dennis Kneale, who has worked tirelessly to help me create this book: checking facts, talking to my colleagues—inside and outside of the firm—who have worked with me on the cases cited in this book, to augment and provide checks and balances for my recollection of events, helping me to put this whole thing together.
It’s been a long journey from the South Side of Chicago. I have loved every minute of it—well, almost every minute. I hope I will be able to duplicate my father’s passion and dedication and still be doing this into my nineties. Nancy said she married me for better or worse, not for lunch. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this book.