ALUMNI | IMPACT

Class of 1975 Couple Pays Tribute to Favorite Professor’s Sayings in Moot Court

Hilary Fischman Soiefer and Alan Soiefer, both 1975 graduates, decided to have Moot Court seats inscribed with their names and their favorite catchphrases from Joseph Crea ’47, who was their Torts professor.

HILARY FISCHMAN SOIEFER AND ALAN SOIEFER, both 1975 graduates, have a special connection to Brooklyn Law School, because it is where they first met and started dating more than 50 years ago. Now those memories are part of the school itself.

Over the summer, the Soiefers visited the Law School for the first time in years, with a particularly meaningful stop in the Moot Court Room. Although they give to the school annually, they decided to do more this year, and wanted to see firsthand the two chairs they had inscribed with their names to memorialize their favorite catchphrases from Joseph Crea ’47. The legendary professor and scholar, who died in 2019 at the age of 104, taught at Brooklyn Law School for 60 years and was the Soiefers’ first-year Torts professor.

“We liked him very much, as everyone else who had him did,” Hilary said. A favorite Crea saying, “The barrel rolls,” is inscribed on her named chair, a reminder to be humble and aware of shifting power dynamics. “Always think about that when you’re working with another lawyer. If you’re on top at one point, you may not always be there,” Hilary said.

“Professor Crea knew he was at the top and students were reporting to him, but at some point, the barrel will roll, and a student might become a judge that he would have to argue a case in front of,” Alan said. “He didn’t ever want to humiliate or embarrass his students, because the barrel rolls.”

Alan had a different Crea gem inscribed on his chair: “Someone always knows,” which was meant as a reminder to seek experts when faced with an unfamiliar problem. “The concept is, you may not know, but find someone who does,” Alan said. “Someone always knows the answer to the question that you have, and it’s just a matter of finding that person.”

Both Soiefers participated in the required annual Moot Court competition, but Hilary was the standout, earning a place in the Moot Court Honor Society. She remains friends with her Moot Court partner and still relishes their Law School victories.

The Soiefers married the year after graduation, and went on to careers in real estate law. After kicking off his legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Alan capped it as assistant general counsel for MetLife, and Hilary worked primarily in private practice, while they raised their children in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Each originally came to Brooklyn Law School because of its location. Hilary, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and attended Skidmore College, said that after four years in upstate New York, she was eager to get back to the New York City area. She was aware of the Law School’s reputation for being inclusive.

“I had heard that Brooklyn Law School was accepting women—remember this was a long time ago, and not all schools were even taking any women yet,” she said. “The year that we started, we had 40 women in the class, and they were so proud that it was 10 percent of the class, which was an all-time high. As students, we 40 women all knew each other. It was special… Brooklyn Law School was so outstandingly advanced with women’s rights at the time.”

Alan had studied at Brandeis University, near Boston, but he, too, wished to study law and be in New York, where his father had a business. Thus, he and Hilary ended up in the same class year and law school section. He was at the back of the room, while she sat in the third row, giving him “the better view,” Hilary joked.

“It was alphabetical order,” Alan said.

Studying came first, so Alan finished his final exams as a third-year student, waiting until Hilary had taken her last final before proposing. “He said to me, ‘I had the ring for a few days, but I didn’t want to give it to you, so you could study,’” Hilary recalled.

Interested in naming a seat? A Moot Court seat dedication is a meaningful way to commemorate your personal experience, or honor someone of importance in your life. Reach out to Annie Nienaber at annie.nienaber@brooklaw.edu or 718-780-7516 to find out more.