Frederick August Otto "Fritz" Schwarz Jr. (born April 20, 1935) is an American lawyer born in New York City.

Family and early life

Schwarz was born in New York City, the great-grandson of German-American Frederick August Otto Schwarz, the founder of the Fifth Avenue toy store, F.A.O. Schwarz. His family sold the majority interest in the toy store in 1963. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1957 and received a law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1960. In 1960, he organized picketing at a Woolworth store in sympathy with black demonstrators in Greensboro, N.C. He married Marian in 1959. She has served as New York City's Coordinator of Youth Services. They have three children, Eric, a reporter for ''

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. History The paper was founded on , as the weekly ''Quincy Patriot'' by John Adams Green and Edmund Butl ...

'' in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, and founder of Citizen Schools; Adair and Eliza.

Career

In 1960, he worked as a law clerk for Chief Judge J. Edward Lumbard, Second Circuit United States Court of Appeals. In 1961, he went to Nigeria helping organize the laws of the newly independent country. His experiences were the basis of his 1966 book, ''Nigeria: The Tribes, The Nation or the Race.'' In 1963, he joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP becoming a partner in 1969. In 1975-76, he was chief counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Intelligence, known as the

Church Committee The Church Committee (formally the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities) was a US Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated abuses by the Central Intelligence ...

. This work among other things, uncovered

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

plots against foreign leaders and other illegal activities of American intelligence agencies at home and abroad. The Senate committee work led to a post as an unpaid consultant to Vice President

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

. In 1977 he was named by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

to a committee that helped select William H. Webster as the new Director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. Schwarz became head of the

New York City Law Department The New York City Law Department, also known as the Office of the Corporation Counsel, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for most of the city's legal affairs. The department is headed by the Corporation Counsel, Muri ...

in 1982. "At the time, his law firm, which takes on considerable public-interest litigation, was suing the Federal Census Bureau on the city's behalf, challenging a loss of aid based on undercounted minorities." In his City Hall tenure, he defended victims of bias against homosexuals and minority hiring programs, advocated inclusion of AIDS victims in city classrooms, pressed the Reagan Administration to account for illegal cuts in disability benefits for New Yorkers and, amid scandals, helped reshape ethics and lobbying laws. He served as Corporation Counsel for four years, on leave from his law firm. Schwarz retired from Cravath at the end of 2001, and was named Senior Counsel in 2002. He is also currently Chief Counsel at the

Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a liberal or progressive nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. The Brennan Cente ...

at the New York University School of Law. On April 30, 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Ridenhour Courage Prize by The Nation Institute, which cited his lifelong pursuit of just and accountable government, including "his call for a full, wide, and no-holds-barred investigation of the abuses by the NSA and other intelligence agencies."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Frederick A.O. Jr. 1935 births Living people American lawyers Harvard Law School alumni American people of German descent Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Cravath, Swaine & Moore partners