About Nancy Rommelmann
Nancy Rommelmann writes for Reason, Bari Weiss’s The Free Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. She is the co-host of the podcast, Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, and writes the Substack Make More Pie. Her most recent book is To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder. She lives in New York City.
Articles written by Nancy Rommelmann
Best-Laid Plans
How Sharlei Hsu went from would-be doctor with a fear of public speaking to a top litigatorMuch of Sharlei Hsu’s professional life hasn’t gone as planned. And for that, she’s grateful. “I feel like a lot of things in life are a combination of luck and being prepared for when you get lucky, and then running with it,” says the Portland-based insurance and commercial litigator. Born in Shanghai and raised in Salt Lake City to parents working in the sciences, it was understood that Hsu would go into medicine. But upon becoming a naturalized citizen in high school, she decided …
The Moving Target
Former ‘Top Gun’ pilot Thomas P. O’Brien on meeting presidents and staring down gang membersWhen you hear about an attorney who’s flown F-14s, faced down the Crips and Bloods, and prosecuted biker gang members with names like “Danger” and “Monster,” you assume the guy is going to be a steely-eyed Clint Eastwood type. Then Thomas P. O’Brien gets on a Zoom call and he’s self-deprecating and kinetic—cracking jokes about his lack of prowess with technology (“I’m like the lawyer who attended the Zoom court hearing with the cat filter on his face,” he says), and …
'It's a Fraud, It's All a Fraud'
Ira Lee Sorkin and Marc Litt on the Bernie Madoff caseThough Americans love going big, no one wants “Architect of Largest Ponzi Scheme in History” as their epitaph. But that was The New York Times obituary headline for Bernie Madoff last April. For decades, Madoff’s brokerage firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, seemed to regularly outperform the S&P 500, offering investors annual returns of 50%—and, with at least one client, 550%. It all came crashing down in December 2008. If the financial devastation was …
Soft Landings
Victoria Blachly speaks for those who can’t speak for themselvesVictoria Blachly doesn’t bring people back from the dead. Just nearly. Blachly is a fiduciary litigator focusing on matters affecting the elderly. Many of her clients are experiencing memory loss while trying to navigate complex end-of-life legal issues. “It is definitely a challenge, working with clients with memory loss,” says the Samuels Yoelin Kantor partner. “I’m often dealing with families fighting about wills and trusts, or capacity cases, undue influence, financial elder …
The Law and Aging in America
What we don't talk about when we talk about getting oldThe golden years: a time to relax, reflect and enjoy the fruits of one’s labors. Scratch that. For many older Americans, it’s a time of decline, pharmaceuticals and financial ruin. Most of us cannot predict whether we will be laid off, and if so, whether we will ever find work again; whether we will suffer a catastrophic illness, and if we do, who might try to profit. When you add that seniros may not want to be a burden on caregivers, or may feel stranded in a world where there’s always …
The Straight Shooter
How Sylvia Goldschmidt fell into family law“I did one last Friday with a judge,” says Sylvia Goldschmidt. “It wasn’t the same.” It’s late May and she’s referring to a divorce case she’s handling via teleconference. Like nearly everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, the founding partner of Goldschmidt & Genovese, who normally works out of her offices in Manhattan and White Plains but is speaking from her home in Westchester, has had to improvise. This means court dates carried out via Zoom, with only attorneys and …
Mixed Judicial Arts
Former Superior Court Judge Peter Polos now passes judgment on MMA fightsA look at the CV of the Honorable Peter Polos—Air Force ROTC, former Superior Court judge and litigator—shows a man invested in the basic concepts of fairness. “I am definitely rule-oriented,” he says. “I can’t even tell you how upset I get when something is unfair.” He’s still a judge, by the way. Not in superior court, from which he retired in 2010, but as a licensed judge in mixed martial arts competitions. He’s a longtime fan. In high school, Polos swam and played …
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
Steve Cohen began law school at 58; now, at 68, he’s on the Rising Stars listSteve Cohen has worked in advertising and publishing, served in the Navy, written seven books, co-chaired Hillary Clinton’s White House task force on early childhood literacy, and launched a number of startups. At age 58, he started law school. Last year, he cofounded the firm Pollock Cohen. This is his first year on the Rising Stars list. He’s 68. The first really rich guy I knew said to me that he returns every phone call within 24 hours. And the first phone call that’s returned is from …
Capitalizing on Offshore Wind
How New York can become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energyLast December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for New York state to have a 100% carbon-neutral electricity supply by 2040. “New York must be the most progressive state in the nation moving to renewables,” he said during a speech at New York City’s Hunter College. Good timing. With politicians trying to outgreen each other—even stalwart Republicans like Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Matt Gaetz are proposing conservative solutions to climate change—being ambitious when it comes to wind, solar …
A Long Way from the Mole Hole
Five legendary Georgia attorneys on practicing law for half a centuryMost became lawyers by accident—although one, with tongue firmly in cheek, says it was destiny. Another chose law because he’d heard it was less anti-Semitic than other professions—but anti-Semitism was still prevalent. So was sexism and racism. Bobby Lee Cook remembers segregated drinking fountains in courthouses. Miles Alexander of Kilpatrick Stockton says, “I’m very careful not to use the term ‘good old days’ when I talk to students who have just passed the bar. Most of them …
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