A Personal Remembrance: Gilbert J. Ginsburg

“[Samuel] Boswell's surname has passed into the English language as a term (Boswell, Boswellian, Boswellism) for a constant companion and observer, especially one who records those observations in print. In ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes affectionately says of Dr. Watson, who narrates the tales, "I am lost without my Boswell."

—Wikipedia

A giant of the government contracting world has passed from the scene. Gilbert J. Ginsburg died on October 26, 2018. He was 82 years old. Gil played many roles over his career – judge, professor, Director of the George Washington University (GWU) Government Contracts Program, law school dean, senior partner, business owner of the A-76 Institute, public speaker, prolific author in the Government Contracts and Federal Labor Standards fields, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I wrote a piece about his well-lived life for publication soon in the Public Contracts Law Journal, and therein I explained his many accomplishments. But now I want a chance to describe more personally his impact on me.  

Gil had been mentor in my early years of practice, and I owe my career avocation (government contracts and wage and hour law) directly to him. I first met Gil while he was serving as an adjunct professor at the GWU law school in 1982. He hired me starting after graduation and I agreed to take the GWU class taught he taught called Federal Labor Standards in the Spring of 1983. After the bar exam, I joined him at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. (“EBG”) as a first year associate, where I stayed for more than 24 years. He linked me up with my long-term friend and colleague Kenneth Weckstein, who had just become a partner at EBG. And with that one employment decision behind me, the arc of my work life was set -- I became a government contract/wage and hour lawyer. But for the fortunate circumstance of meeting Gil, no doubt I would have a had a very different professional path.

Gil was a good mentor to many, and especially good to me. He also hired and helped my friend and colleague Shlomo Katz, who ably filled the void when Gil retired from the active seminar busness. Back in the 1980’s, he gave me opportunities that few young lawyers in big firms are proferred. I was able to litigate cases as lead counsel early on. I had major public speaking exposure and taught many seminars. Only two years out of law school, I went back to GWU as an adjunct professor, co-teaching the Federal Labor Standards class with Gil. We taught the class together in the then-joint GWU Labor/Government Contracts LLM program for about six years from 1985-1991. He secured a coveted speaking role for me at the Federal Publications (now Thomson/West) Government Contracts Year in Review meeting as perhaps the youngest speaker on the podium. I have been doing that speech annually since the late 1980’s and am now perhaps the longest-term continuous participant. In many ways, as one wag at the time said, I was Gil’s “sidekick.”  But almost everything good about my career arose initially out of my close association with a generous mentor. He set an example of professional mentorship that inspires me to return the favor to others.

Here is one more example of his kindness. Together, Gil and I wrote a book entitled the Fair Labor Standards Handbook for States, Local Government and Schools (Thompson 1985). How many young lawyers get that kind of opportunity two years out of law school? I remember asking Gil after we inked the publishing deal if he thought anyone would buy it. Gil replied saying something to the effect of if we write it, they will come. Well, it sold like crazy, made millions for the publishers, is still in print 33 years later, and is a part of the Westlaw library. It spawned several literary spinoff and very successful additional FLSA publications. If you search for Gil’s name in the FLSA case law, you will see not only the cases he litigated, but also numerous cites to our book under the rubric ‘Ginsburg et al.’  Since I was the original ‘et al.’, I think he got the better end of the book naming deal.

Gil loved to talk to his clients and his associates. He was the first person I knew to get a cell phone installed in his car. Indeed, it is hard to picture him without a phone in his hand. (If there was an afterlife, Gil would be out there dialing away furiously.) It was the early days of cellular technology. He used to call me every morning when he got in his car to talk about the coming events of the day. And over the course of the conversation we would get cut off several times given the limits of cellular coverage, but he was undaunted, and would call back again persistently. He also liked to call on Sundays just to chat – like a man who missed the excitement of his work world. We had a close bond, and I learned how he thought, and often acted as his interpreter to others. But I never aspired to be his Boswell.

Gil also loved to travel. He was one of those people who was most alive on the road. He especially liked going to Las Vegas and gambling And because of his wonderlust, and on the expense account of Federal Publication and later Gil’s A-76 Institute, he and I teamed for years to teach seminars all around the country on the Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, the FLSA, Loss of Efficiency Claims, and other government contracting topics. We went on roadtrips to almost every major American city, visiting many literally a dozen times. I like to say I saw urban America teaching seminars with Gil as my guide. And I owe a speclal thank you to Gil’s friend and business partner David Kline for the travel memories.

Finally, my favorite memory of Gil is the delight he had in scoring a new client – he would call up his devoted wife Faith and ask her to please put a steak on the barbecue for a celebration.

He was truly a happy warrior. I feel privileged to have known and worked closely with Gil over most of my career and owe him much. He was a brilliant and kind-hearted man, generous to all. He is greatly missed by many, and especially by me.