A pillar in the legal, nonprofit community for over six decades
A persuasive debater, an engaging and inquisitive conversationalist and a brilliant lawyer for more than six decades, Marvin Lieber shared his gifts in the local legal and nonprofit community, where his contributions have left a lasting legacy.
“He was a delight — a dear, dear friend and real gentleman that I so admired,” said Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose. “He contributed so much to our profession, and he loved being a lawyer. He did everything he could to make the profession better.”
A managing partner at four local law firms and a past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Mr. Lieber, 86, of Oakland, died July 16 after a series of recent health setbacks.
Growing up in Squirrel Hill, Mr. Lieber followed in the footsteps of his much older brother Jerome, who was a partner in a Pittsburgh law firm, said his wife, Penina Lieber.
“That was probably what got him interested in the law,” said Mrs. Lieber, also a prominent local lawyer.
After graduating from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1951, Mr. Lieber earned a business administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
He went on to graduate from Pitt School of Law in 1958, then joined the U.S. Air Force, serving as a captain stateside, including at Lackland Air Force Base in San
Antonio, Texas.
He met Penina Kessler at a party where each was accompanied by someone else.
“And it took him six months to call me because he couldn’t pronounce my name,” she said, laughing. “We never separated after that.”
The couple married in 1964 and worked alongside each other for 27 years at various firms.
At the start of his career, Mr. Lieber joined his brother’s firm, Ruslander Ruslander & Lieber, as a corporate tax lawyer.
By 1965, the practice was reorganized into Berkman Ruslander Pohl Lieber & Engel, where Mr. Lieber became a partner. It eventually morphed again in 1989 to Klett Lieber Rooney & Schorling, where Mr. Lieber remained until 1995, when he and his wife left to begin a separate practice.
By 1997, Mr. Lieber merged interests with Philadelphiabased Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel and oversaw the opening of the firm’s first Pittsburgh office.
At Obermayer Rebmann, Mr. Lieber recruited his former colleague Bruce C. Fox, who succeeded his friend as managing partner of the firm.
“He’s been a great mentor,” Mr. Fox said. “He was just a great beacon of warmth, intelligence and wit. He was a very special person and a pillar of the Pittsburgh legal community. And conversations with him were incomparably interesting and engaging. It was always easy to be around him.”
In 2013, Mr. Lieber joined Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, where he practiced in recent years.
Along with his work as a corporate lawyer, among other disciplines, Mr. Lieber made his mark in the legal community through the advancement of educational programs, being named in 1992 by the state Supreme Court to its first Continuing Legal Education Board.
“In order to keep your license, lawyers have to have a certain amount of credits every year,” his wife said. “It was a very big part of his life.”
By that time, Mr. Lieber had for many years served as an example in the legal community, said former Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, who met him in the summer of 1978, shortly after Mr. Nordenberg began working as a law professor at Pitt.
“Marvin was one of the first people to whom I became close in the legal profession here in Pittsburgh. He was both an early mentor and longtime friend,” he said. “I helped start an intensive course in trial advocacy for lawyers. It was a twoweek program geared to trial lawyers in the earlier stages of their career. Well, Marvin was a tax lawyer, and he was already a leader within the legal profession, but he was committed to education. It was almost as if we had a celebrity in our midst. He was such an approachable person, so he got to know everyone in the group.”
Later in his career as law school dean and eventually chancellor, Mr. Nordenberg found himself leaning more on his old friend, who also served as a university trustee and was later recognized with a distinguished alumni award.
“He was a big presence at Pitt,” he said. “He was almost a constant source of advice and encouragement for me.”
Mr. Lieber was especially active in the local, state and national bar associations, serving as president of the state bar institute and the Pennsylvania Bar Association Foundation and as a delegate in the national association. In 2000, he was elected president of the state bar association.
“He was sort of a dean of the tax bar,” his wife said. “He was really very wellliked and involved.”
Also a community leader, Mr. Lieber served on the boards of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Opera, among others.
“Marvin was always front and center. He definitely walked the walk,” Judge Ambrose said. “He was quite a guy. He did it all and did it all well.”
A devoted father of three children, including two lawyers, Mr. Lieber took great pride in the accomplishments of his loved ones, said his daughter Jessica Lieber Smolar, a federal prosecutor.
“I had two jury trials in the past few years, and my dad wasn’t in great health and a little trouble walking and driving, but he somehow managed to come to court without telling me,” she said. “He was so proud of what I was doing, and he was so proud of everything my siblings did.”
Mr. Fox said he would feel the loss of his friend and former colleague deeply.
“He was one of the sweetest and most loyal men. He had a special grace and kindness about him,” he said. “I will miss him terribly. It really was a loss to all who knew him.”
Along with his wife and daughter, Mr. Lieber is survived by his daughter Michele E. Lieber, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and his son, Rob Lieber, a screenwriter from Long Island, N.Y.; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother Jerome. His funeral was Friday. Contributions may be made to University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 3900 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.