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 Robert W. Beynart
Robert W. Beynart died on December 27, 2000 from cancer. Here are some excerpts from obituaries in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Fulton County Daily Report."The son of Lithuanian immigrants who died while he was a teenager, Mr. Beynart…put himself through school on scholarships and by working part-time jobs. One of his partners at Smith, Gambrell & Russell noted: "An adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law, Bob Beynart, ‘was the person who we looked to for guidance concerning ethical issues.Partners and associates alike sought his counsel.’ 'He had a very gentle way of pointing out what flaws he saw in your reasoning or your approach.’…’He was more than a great lawyer, he was the consummate teacher…Every year, Beynart would address new lawyers at the firm on ethical issues and help improve their oral advocacy and writing skills…One of the rules Beynart taught was: ‘If you have any doubt,don't do it. Another lesson Beynart handed down was ‘You can be a good lawyer and a good father as well.’ Beynart had a superior ability to provide accurate and practical legal solutions that were ‘palatable to the client.’ He was known for his ability to write clearly and concisely…He had an extraordinary ability to simplify…and hated legalese. He always believed that when a document was edited, it should get smaller, not larger.‘He was one of those people who defies people's stereotypes about lawyers,’ said a friend. ’He was totally ethical and honest in a way that was just obvious when you interacted with him."  Chris and Jennifer Pachus wrote: Hello Mr. Tappan, Class of '62 Secretary, and Yale Alumni Magazine:
Article #1: From an Atlanta legal publication, the Fulton County Daily Report, January 9, 2001 Jan. 20 Memorial Service Set for Smith, Gambrell Partner Beynart Anne Berryman Special to the Daily Report A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, in the Cannon Chapel of Emory University for Robert William Beynart, a Smith, Gambrell & Russell partner who many lawyers regarded as a mentor. Beynart died of cancer Dec. 27. Also an adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law, Bob Beynart, 60, "was the person who we looked to for guidance concerning ethical issues," says Lisa L. Ballentine, a partner in the firm. Ballentine says that Beynart interviewed her for her job with the firm and she considered him her mentor. She was not alone. "Partners and associates alike sought his counsel," she says. "He had a very gentle way of pointing out what flaws he saw in your reasoning or your approach." "He was more than a great lawyer," she says. "He was the consummate teacher. I think he carried that over into his teaching at Emory. I always took great comfort that he was instructing potential lawyers in not only how to conduct civil litigation but in how to conduct themselves." Every year, Beynart would address new lawyers at the firm on ethical issues and help improve their oral advocacy and writing skills. Beynart's notes on ethical law practice will be used in the training of associates in the firm, says David Newman, a Smith, Gambrell partner. "Bob was not only my dear friend but my mentor," says Newman, who worked with Beynart for 14 years. "During my last visit with him, we spent time together sitting on the couch going over the notes in the ethics class he taught at Emory" so that the information could be passed on to the new associates at the firm. "He was teaching me up to the last minute," Newman says. One of the rules Beynart taught Newman was: "If you have any doubt, don't do it." Another lesson Beynart handed down was "You can be a good lawyer and a good father as well," Newman says. "He was an outstanding lawyer-the brightest lawyer I have ever known-but he had that balance in his life. Lawyering was very important to Bob, but his wife and family were more important." Beynart had a superior ability to provide accurate and practical legal solutions that were "palatable to the client," Ballentine says. He was known for his ability to write clearly and concisely, often from only dictation, Newman notes. After Beynart and a team of lawyers conducted an internal investigation of a large company for its board of directors, Beynart dictated an 125-page document, which required little editing. Newman says he shows associates the document as an example of good writing. "He had an extraordinary ability to simplify," says Newman. "He hated legalese. He always believed that when a document was edited, it should get smaller, not larger," Ballentine says. Beynart, whose parents died when he was a teenager, graduated from Yale University in 1962 and Harvard Law School in 1965. Attending college with the help of scholarships and loans, he also worked part-time jobs, including riving a delivery truck for a liquor store. Beynart joked, even in difficult times. When his doctor told him that test results showed a skin cancer had metastasized, Beynart said, "Well, at least it didn't show that I was a Republican," his wife, Kay Menkovitz Beynart, recalls. Despite the diagnosis, he continued to teach Emory students. And he took pleasure in his hobbies. He read history and built, with the help of friends and family, what he called "the model railroad layout of my dreams"- an 8-by-22-foot creation for his dozens of locomotives and hundreds of trains, cars and airplanes. Beynart is survived by his wife; two sons, Daniel Justin Beynart of Athens and Timothy William Beynart of Baltimore, Md.; a daughter, Jennifer Beynart Pachus of Needham, Mass.; a brother, John Paul Beynart of Hudson, N.Y.; a sister, Patricia Beynart DeCrosta of Jacksonville, Fla.; and a granddaughter. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 297153, Houston, TX, 77297-0153. [end] Anne Berryman is an Athens-based freelance writer. Her e-mail address is aberryman@aol.com . Article #2: from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution METRO NEWS TODAY December 30, 2000 OBITUARIES: ATLANTA: Erin Behan - Staff Bob Beynart, 60, lawyer who lived and taught ethics of profession Bob Beynart's litigation work focused squarely on the clear definition he saw between right and wrong. A partner with the Smith Gambrell and Russell law firm and adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law, Mr. Beynart held ethics in the highest regard. "He was one of those people who defies people's stereotypes about lawyers," said a friend, Patrick T. Malone of Roswell. "He was totally ethical and honest in a way that was just obvious when you interacted with him." As a litigator, Mr. Beynart was well-respected, said Jim Keaten of Atlanta, also a lawyer and a friend since law school. "He not only taught ethics, but he scrupulously abided by them in his own life and practice," Mr. Keaten said. Mr. Beynart was also known for his encyclopedic knowledge of words and history. A faithful New York Times crossword puzzle enthusiast, he sometimes slipped arcane words into a conversation, once apologizing for his vocabulary by saying, "I'm sorry I'm being pedantic," said a son, Daniel Justin Beynart of Athens. Visitation for Robert William Beynart, 60, is 1 p.m. today at H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill. He died of cancer Wednesday at his Atlanta residence. The body will be cremated. A memorial service will be held Jan. 20. The son of Lithuanian immigrants who died while he was a teenager, Mr. Beynart graduated from Yale University in 1962 and Harvard Law School in 1965. He put himself through school on scholarships and by working part-time jobs, said his wife, Kay Minkovitz Beynart of Atlanta. "When we got married, all he had was a stack of model kits and a stack of books. Those were his worldly possessions," she said. Mr. Beynart had assembled model airplanes since childhood and finished hundreds of the plastic models, Mrs. Beynart said. He also assembled and collected model trains. An Atlanta resident since 1965, Mr. Beynart most recently taught courses at Emory in its advocacy skills program, designed to prepare students for the real world of law practice, said Molly O'Brien, the program's director. "One of the most important things to him was teaching students how to be ethical lawyers," she said. "He did a consciousness raising almost with the students about all of the different ways ethics could work into their strategies for any kind of lawsuit." Survivors include another son, Timothy William Beynart of Baltimore; a daughter, Jennifer Beynart Pachus of Needham, Mass.; a brother, John Paul Beynart of Hudson, N.Y.; a sister, Patricia Beynart DeCrosta of Jacksonville; and a granddaughter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 297153, Houston, TX, 77297-0153. |
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