Baltimore attorney Jeffrey Liss dies at 55

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 20, 2007 by Brendan Kearney

Services will be held this afternoon for Jeffrey F. Liss, who died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 55.

Liss was instrumental in expanding Baltimore-based Piper & Marbury into global law firm DLA Piper. In 1997, he became the firm's first chief operating officer, managing multiple Piper offices during the firm's period of growth and mergers. He was co- managing partner of the firm's U.S. operations and a member of the firm's Global Board when he died.

"Jeff Liss was one of the finest people I've ever known in my whole life," said Paul A. Tiburzi, managing partner of DLA Piper's Baltimore office. "He was always our guiding light. It's unique to think that way about a lawyer."

Liss "pushed all of us to do better," Tiburzi added. "He would sending nudging e-mails with 'Why aren't the pro bono numbers higher?' He would always take us back to public service."

In an e-mail, Francis B. Burch Jr., joint CEO of DLA Piper, called Liss "our soul and conscience."

Liss specialized in environmental and insurance coverage law. He was a prolific author and lecturer, serving as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Vicki Jackson, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown, remembered Liss as famously principled. "He was the kind of lawyer and the kind of person whose peers would come to for advice. He had a very clear moral compass and great judgment. - If there was a right or wrong, Jeffrey would know it."

In addition to his work and pro bono activities, Liss served on the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's executive committee and board of directors.

Long-time friend Jamie Gorelick, a partner at Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C., remembers a lighter side of the power player.

"He was just fun: mischievous and very funny and a real character," recalled Gorelick, who said Liss played baseball as a catcher. "He went to [Major League Baseball] Fantasy Camp regularly. Everyone else would retire to the sports bar, and he would go to the Sarasota Opera. That's the kind of guy he was."

Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. The family is encouraging donations to the Sidney Kimmel Center at Johns Hopkins and to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Liss is survived by his wife, Susan; his daughter, Joanna Liss Strait, and son-in-law Ari Strait; and his son, Harrison Liss.