Victor Rabinowitz

Who was Victor Rabinowitz?

Victor Rabinowitz was an American lawyer known for representing high-profile dissidents and causes.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a factory owner who had emigrated from Lithuania. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1934 and also received his BA from Michigan.

Rabinowitz was the law partner of Leonard Boudin. Together they founded the law firm of Rabinowitz and Boudin, currently Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, in New York. The firm has since represented Paul Robeson, Alger Hiss, Benjamin Spock, Daniel Ellsberg, Dashiell Hammett, the Church of Scientology, and Jimmy Hoffa. It has also represented the government of Chile under Salvador Allende, and the Cuban government since June 1960 and has been Cuba's only U.S. legal counsel in all U.S.-related matters.

The papers of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Lieberman, P.C., also indicate work for, among others, Rockwell Kent, the American Communications Association and other unions, the Fellowship of Reconciliation and other non-union organizations.

Rabinowitz was a prominent figure in the civil rights and liberties eras. He was one of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild in 1937 and national President from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of the American Communist Party from 1942 until the early 1960s. He argued many cases before the United States Supreme Court.