On Oct. 11, members of the Fordham Law community and the wider legal community joined the families of Joseph J. Vitale ’89 and Marc A. Tenenbaum for a special reception and memorial at the Law School. The event, sponsored by Cohen, Weiss and Simon, honored the memory of Vitale and Tenenbaum, both attorneys well-known by their colleagues in the field of labor law, and celebrated the creation of the Joseph Vitale ’89 Labor Fellowship in their honor.
Vitale worked at Cohen, Weiss and Simon for 31 years, where he was an advocate for unions and workers and represented clients in diverse industries, including the building trades, health care, transportation, postal services, and the moving and storage industry. In 2019, he successfully defended Laborers’ Local 79’s use of “Scabby the Rat,” a 12 ft.-tall inflatable deployed at union protests at worksites.
Tenenbaum, who devoted his professional life to workers and had handled many complex ERISA cases, was proud that his great-grandfather, a union carpenter, had a descendant who performed important legal work for the New York City District Council of Carpenters. A beloved figure at Virginia & Ambinder, where he was named partner, Tenenbaum was known for his generous approach to mentoring junior attorneys.
“They were both taken from us too soon and suddenly,” said Dean Matthew Diller of Tenenbaum and Vitale, who both passed away in 2020. “They used their talents, skills, energy, passion, and drive to help everyday people in their lives. We will always remember these two giants in the field of labor law.”
“Marc and Joe would tell you that the labor movement remains as important today as ever, and I believe that,” added Charles “Chuck” Virginia ’89, who worked side-by-side with Tenenbaum at Virginia & Ambinder for nearly 15 years and was one of Vitale’s close friends and classmates. “May their memories remain the spark that helps light the way.”
The Spirits of Tenenbaum and Vitale Live On
The brainchild of Vitale’s fellow members of the Fordham Law Class of 1989 Sharon McCarthy of Kostelanetz & Fink, U.S. Congressman Tom Suozzi, and Charles Virginia, the Joseph Vitale Labor Fellowship honors Tenenbaum and Vitale in perpetuity at Fordham Law by supporting students every summer in work on behalf of workers’ rights.
“When we heard that Joe passed away, Sharon, Chuck, and I worked together, along with Joe’s law firm and some labor unions, to create this memorial,” said Suozzi, who took labor law classes with Vitale and Virginia during their 2L year. “Joe is one of those rare examples of people that had a spark of idealism for probably his whole life, but certainly at the time when we were in law school. That spark never left him, [and]that idealism that he had was never snuffed out by the realities of life. … We need to hold Joe up as an example to other people.”
Launched this past summer, the fellowship was established through the support and generosity of several members of the Class of 1989, as well as the Tenenbaum family, who made a substantial gift. The fellowship, administered by Fordham Law’s Public Interest Resource Center, will be awarded annually to at least one student who devotes his or her summer to public service work through labor unions in the New York area.
“Joe was well-loved by the Class of 1989 and by Fordham Law,” said McCarthy. “We’re so grateful for him and his legacy, and are pleased that it will carry on through this fellowship.”
Eushin Vitale, one of Vitale’s daughters, thanked those in attendance for their continued support and to Fordham Law for creating the fellowship in her father’s memory. “My dad was so passionate about the work that he did and the people that he represented,” she said. “He wanted to make an impact on workers rights and didn’t care about his own financial gain. I know that his spirit is in this room and that it will live on through the recipients of the Joseph Vitale Labor Fellowship and [through]every student inspired to study labor law for generations to come.”
Seamus Crowley ’24, the first recipient of the fellowship, devoted his summer to public service work through an internship with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s Office of the General Counsel. “The support of the fellowship allowed me to gain practical experience advocating for the rights of the workforce and consumers while assisting the advancement of economic prosperity for all New Yorkers,” Crowley said. “I’m very grateful for the generosity of the members of the Class of 1989 and the Tenenbaum family.”
If you would like to make a gift to this fellowship, please click here.
