Henry Friendly — LLMpedia

Henry Friendly
Name	Henry Friendly
Birth date	February 26, 1903
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Death date	February 11, 1986
Death place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Yale College; Harvard Law School
Occupation	United States circuit judge
Known for	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

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Henry Friendly Henry J. Friendly was an influential United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit whose opinions reshaped doctrines in antitrust law, tax law, securities regulation, administrative law, and civil procedure. Nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he served alongside colleagues from the Second Circuit such as Cyrus R. Vance-era lawyers and later jurists like Thurgood Marshall-era figures who debated federal appellate standards. Friendly combined a background at Harvard Law School and Cravath, Swaine & Moore-style practice with teaching roles tied to institutions such as Columbia Law School and associations like the American Law Institute.

Early life and education

Born in New York City to parents of modest means, Friendly attended Phillips Exeter Academy and matriculated at Yale University where he was active in societies that included future Supreme Court clerks and prominent Yale Law School alumni networks. He graduated from Yale College in 1923 and then entered Harvard Law School, earning an LL.B. in 1926 where he overlapped with figures who later influenced the New Deal legal order and the development of Securities and Exchange Commission jurisprudence. During his student years he formed professional relationships with graduates who later joined firms such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore and agencies including the Internal Revenue Service.

After admission to the New York (state) bar, Friendly joined the New York firm Covington & Burling-style practices and ultimately became a partner in the litigation-intensive environment of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He represented clients involved with Securities Act of 1933 disputes, Internal Revenue Code controversies, and corporate antitrust matters that intersected with cases before judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and commissions such as the Federal Trade Commission. Friendly handled matters touching on the interests of institutions like Chemical Bank, Chase National Bank, and corporations subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve System and the Securities and Exchange Commission. His private practice involved interactions with leading attorneys who later served in the Department of Justice and on the staffs of various White House administrations.

Nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959, Friendly received confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and filled a seat that had been occupied by judges who had served through eras spanning the New Deal and postwar regulatory expansions. He sat on panels with judges appointed by presidents ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Lyndon B. Johnson and later with appointees of Richard Nixon, adjudicating appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. His tenure overlapped with landmark developments involving the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the expansion of federal jurisdiction, and shifting doctrines from the Supreme Court of the United States under chief justices including Earl Warren and Warren E. Burger.

Friendly was known for meticulous statutory analysis and a pragmatic textualism that drew criticism and praise from scholars at institutions such as Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. He authored influential opinions interpreting provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, shaping precedent that courts cited in cases involving the Tax Court of the United States and the United States Supreme Court. In antitrust appeals, his reasoning engaged doctrines established in Sherman Antitrust Act and decisions influenced by jurists from the Second Circuit tradition. Friendly's decisions on securities litigation touched on standards derived from the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and preceded Supreme Court review in matters related to Rule 10b-5 actions. His administrative law writings analyzed deference principles later associated with debates between Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.-era frameworks and counsels from the American Bar Association.

Friendly lectured at and influenced curricula at Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, and Yale Law School, contributing to debates in journals connected to the American Law Institute and participating in panels hosted by the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He served on committees advising the Judicial Conference of the United States and engaged with codification projects related to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. Colleagues and students from institutions like New York University School of Law and practitioners from firms such as Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acknowledged his influence on appellate advocacy and law clerk training.

Friendly married and maintained residences in New York City where he was active in civic organizations including The New York Bar Association and philanthropic boards with ties to groups like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. After his death in 1986, his papers and opinions were studied by scholars at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and the Library of Congress, and he has been the subject of biographies and symposia held by the Federal Judicial Center and the American Bar Foundation. His jurisprudence continues to be cited in opinions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States, and collections at repositories such as the National Archives preserve his legacy.