Terry Falk Lenzner (August 10, 1939 – April 23, 2020) was an American attorney and founder of Investigative Group International.

Biography

Lenzner was born in Manhattan, the son of Eleanor (Falk), a homemaker, and Joseph Lenzner, a dentist. His paternal grandparents were from Lithuania. He was raised in a secular Jewish family in Manhattan and attended

Philips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

. He graduated with a B.A. from Harvard University, where he was captain of the football team in 1960, and with a J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. After school in 1964, following the advice of attorney Lloyd K. Garrison, he worked for the civil rights division of the Justice Department where he investigated the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. He then worked as an assistant U.S. attorney under Bob Morgenthau in the organized crime unit in New York before becoming the director of the federal office of Legal Services in the Richard Nixon administration. In 1971, he served on a team under U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark that defended the Harrisburg Seven and in 1973, under Samuel Dash, as the chief counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee.

Investigative Group International

In 1984, he founded Investigative Group International, an investigation agency with seven offices in the US as well as in London,

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, and Wiesbaden, Germany. IGI activities range from conducting background investigations, corporate takeovers, internal fraud investigations and "opposition research". In 1994, the law firm of

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams in collaboration with Paul Connolly, a former student of his. Williams left the partnership of D.C. firm Hog ...

, which was representing President Bill Clinton, retained his firm to investigate the source of the financing for Paula Jones' sexual misconduct lawsuit against the president. President Clinton also used the firm to investigate monies contributed by Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie to Clinton's legal defense fund. Although he did work for Republicans at times, he mostly worked for Democrats and was a close personal friend of Clinton lawyer Mickey Kantor. Several former IGI employees have links to the Clinton administration including Ricki Seidman; Interior Department official Brooke Shearer (wife of Clinton's United States Deputy Secretary of State,

Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with ''Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. He was president ...

); undersecretary of the Treasury Raymond W. Kelly, and Howard Shapiro, general counsel to the FBI. Independent counsel

Kenneth W. Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, known ...

subpoenaed Lenzner (along with Sidney Blumenthal) regarding allegations that his firm was paid to find negative information regarding Starr's team and possibly " obstructing justice"; after failing to demonstrate attorney–client privilege, Lenzner testified that his firm was doing "nothing inappropriate" with the research he was doing for Clinton. In 1994, The Clinton administration was criticized for awarding IGI a no-bid grant from the State Department to train police officers in Haiti (sending its then president, former New York City police chief, Raymond Kelly). Over the years he has been retained by numerous high-profile clients to conduct opposition research. In 1991, the firm was retained in investigating United Way president William Aramony. Also in 1991,

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

used the firm to investigate the activities of his accusers and whether his jurors acted appropriately. In 1994, he was retained by Senator Ted Kennedy to investigate his opponent, which stoked some controversy when the Kennedy campaign denied employing the firm and when no record of payments to IGI were found. It was discovered that Washington lawyer James Flug had hired IGI and was reimbursed by the campaign. In 1993, he was hired by tobacco giant Brown & Williamson to investigate whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand. In 1997, the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

used IGI to audit political contributions. In 1996, Republican Senate candidate

Robert Monks Robert Augustus Gardner Monks (born December 4, 1933) is an American shareholder activist and co-founder of Institutional Shareholder Services, Lens Investment Management, Lens Governance Advisors and The Corporate Library (now part of GMI Rating ...

hired him to investigate his opponent's alleged sexual assault. In 1997, Lenzner was asked to find derogatory information on Republican Senator Don Nickles and his wife; Senator Joseph Lieberman criticized Lenzner's tactics as an "intrusion into the system." Ivana Trump hired him to investigate Donald Trump's relationship with Marla Maples and to determine his financial assets.

Personal life and death

Lenzner was married to Margaret Rood Lenzner; they had three children: Jonathan Lenzner, Emily Lenzner, and William Lenzner. His son Jonathan is married to Washington Post writer Matea Gold. Lenzer died age 80 on April 23, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenzner, Terry 1939 births 2020 deaths American Jews Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from New York City Phillips Academy alumni Harvard Crimson football players Harvard College alumni