Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

William Anthony Gerard, the tall, lanky Palisades attorney who represented poor people and civil rights many times for free, died of heart failure Thursday at the age of 63.

Gerard had been playing soccer when he collapsed on the field, said Lawrence Weissmann, a friend who spoke with Gerard's family. He died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern on Thursday night.

Gerard considered himself a protege of iconic civil right attorney Conrad Lynn, a Pomona resident who represented people who couldn't afford a lawyer. Lynn, who died in 1995 at age 87, sued to desegrate the armed forces and his clients included freedom riders in the South, Vietnam War draft resisters, Puerto Rican nationalists and people targeted by the government.

Gerard, who shared office space with Lynn, often worked for free representing his clients, spending hours advocating for them in court or through legal documents, his legal colleagues said. He was a throwback to the civil rights advocates in the legal world, not unlike Lynn and the late Harry Edelstein.

"He would fight endlessly for his client," Weissmann said. "He did not care about money. He would fight for his client. He was brilliant. He was the smartest guy in the room."

Gerard, a Pace University graduate who passed the bar in 1983, represented many poor people and people from the Haitian community, often without charge or a manageable fee. When Spring Valley Trustee Vilair Fonvil got convicted of election law misdemeanors, Gerard spent 14 years fighting the charges on appeal for free until he cleared Fonvil in court, Weissmann said.

Weissmann said it was difficult at times partnering up with Gerard.

"People who had no money he would take their case," Weissman said. "He's travel upstate after working hours to represent people, not telling me."

He shared an office with Lynn as a young lawyer some 30 years ago.

"Tony always talked about how he love Conrad Lynn," Weissmann said. "Like Lynn, if he believed in you he fought for you. Most lawyers worried about billable hours. Tony worried about the Constitution."

Gerard took all types of criminal cases - from murder to robbery. He also represented people in Rockland Family Court, once recently being tossed in jail for several hours by a judge for his strenuous advocacy.

Known to friends as Tony, he also went by the name of Bill and Gerard, friends said.

His loyalty to Fonvil and his own sense of righteousness got him entangled in the political machinations in Spring Valley. He represented Fonvil and the forces opposing Mayor Demeza Delhomme - a situation that has led to multiple lawsuit and even a legal fight in process to impeach the mayor. He served several months as a village lawyer, only to be fired by Delhomme for his friendship with Fonvil.

Gerard successfully got charges dropped against Spring Valley Building Inspector Walter Booker, who had been suspended by the mayor at one point.

Attorney David Goldstein called Gerard a "champion of civil rights" and influenced by Lynn.

"Tony was always a gentlemen in court and he always seem to take up cases of cause," Goldstein said. "That was a high quality of his. Taking cases of causes is a very high quality for any lawyer. He's definitely going to be missed."

"He was more aggressive than most lawyers, but a likeable person and an advocte for the underdog," attorney John Edwards said.

Weissmann said Gerard had a heart of gold and integrity.

"He was a bulldog in court who played fair and by the rules," Weissmann said. "I loved him. I miss him."

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