Thank you to all who share your thoughts and remembrances of Richard Braman.
Our Pathfinder will be sorely missed!
In memoriam
Remembering Richard G. Braman by Jason Baron
"I would like to share my reflections of Richard with you. When I met Richard a number of years ago at a TSC gathering in Arizona, he immediately impressed me as a person of great vision and intellect who was eminently approachable. I greatly admired his facility for blending scholarship with pragmatism. Although serious about his passion to move the law forward through robust dialogue and scholarly writings, Richard seemed to enjoy our playful attempt at lightening the mood when our group of judicial participants surprised him by donning TSC “Dialogue” tee shirts and taking the stage. Richard had a gift for inspiring people to roll up their sleeves and tackle cutting edge issues in order to give much appreciated direction to those of us toiling in the courtrooms without much direction. He was fun, he was thought-provoking, he was brilliant, and he made a difference. He will be missed."
Hon. Gail A. Andler, Orange County Superior Court, CA
"A good guy and dear friend with a great heart. He has left us too early but not without very fond and very lasting memories."
John M. Barkett, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, FL
"I hear of the passing of colleagues periodically but Richard's is particularly difficult to accept. For me, he had maintained a perfect balance between prominence and approachability. It is the latter that I found most exceptional and the part I will miss the most. I am honored to have known him and know he is in a better place. My prayers are with him and his family."
Paul Starrett, UBIC North America, Inc., CA
"My firm is forever grateful to Richard for his support and his leadership of this very important conference. His vision is unmatched, and his legacy will forever continue."
Naomi Daysog, TM Financial Forensics, CA
"I knew that Richard was seriously ill, but the news of his passing still came as a shock. He had great enthusiasm for life generally, but especially for the Sedona Conference that he loved so much. The experience at the Sedona Conference was so different from most legal conferences because of Richard. He loved conversation and organized the meetings to maximize discussion. He also loved ideas and made a point of bringing people with different experiences and perspectives to the meetings. Perhaps most of all he and Margo were just fun to be around. He will be missed, but I am sure that the Sedona Conference will endure and prosper because of his work."
Tyler Baker, Fenwick & West LLP, CA
"Richard was a visionary and a leader par excellence, and he will be missed."
H. Gibbs Bauer, Bauer Law Firm, P.C., TX
Article on Richard from Bloomberg BNA
"My personal experience of Richard is one of a man who is kind, gracious, calm, patient, and caring. Plus many more positive attributes. He loves my sister more than anyone could imagine and he will be cherished by everyone who has ever had the opportunity to grace his presence. I love you Richard and I wish I could have spent more time with you, my brother."
William Jones, brother-in-law
"Richard was a true pioneer. His legacy, The Sedona Conference will forever perpetuate his energy and passion. His impact on legal industry will be felt for generations to come, and I will deeply miss his wit, and insight."
Kim Taylor, Ipro Tech, LLC, AZ
"I met Richard Braman just once, and then only briefly, years ago at a session of the Sedona Conference in Arizona. Such was his unassuming nature that even though he stood out like a sore thumb as a cowboy/hippie amongst suits in polo shirts, it only slowly it emerged that he was the actual founder of the whole enterprise. In his interactions with the group he unabashedly espoused values of collaboration, cooperation, communication, and respect, as though convinced that with persistence (and respect), these values might eventually be adopted by practitioners and become incorporated into our adversarial legal system. And lo it has come to pass. I take his passing, like Princess Diana’s, as an implicit directive to carry on with the mission. He has certainly left behind ample apparatus for doing that, and I look forward to seeing how that develops, driven not by the animation of a single individual, but by the force of its own conviction."
David Baldwin, Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, MA
"The first time I met Richard was at an early Sedona Conference meeting that got into some heated dialog (not debate but almost) which Richard quickly quashed with his deep voice (pre-microphone days). I was looking around for a giant person who could project such tone and then there was Richard standing there. Richard reminded everyone that we were there to have dialog – not debate! Through the years I got to know Richard more personally – especially when he found out that I love music, was a record collector and still owned a real turntable. He truly lived by the ‘dialog not debate’ mantra and I think proved to everyone that more can be done with cooperation than without. I hope that his mission of cooperation continues throughout the legal world – this is what Richard set out to do – this is his legacy! Richard will be missed by many because he touched so many – directly by those that he met and indirectly those affected by his work with Sedona. I will miss Richard dearly – personally and professionally. I will miss seeing him casually dressed amongst a sea of suits. But most of all I will miss his presence."
Thomas P. Wisinski, Haynes and Boone, LLP, TX
"Richard will be missed, but his legacy and spirit remain. His moral and ethical compasses made him an excellent role model, and his leadership, professionalism, and willingness to share and teach are examples for all to follow. He motivated many to take on the legal issues of our times, to find solutions that will improve the justice system, and to become legal educators. I am honored and grateful to have known and worked with Richard."
Judge Ralph Artigliere (ret.), Tenth Judicial Circuit Court, FL
"I first met Richard's wife, Margo, in Barcelona many years ago at the start of WG6. I could tell when he introduced her to me just how much a part of him she was and how he would not have been successful without her. They reminded me of my parents - my mom was an artist and an art teacher, my dad a brilliant thinker, each needing the other to complete themselves. That was when I first really knew and understood Richard. And in losing my mother, I also understand that the sense of loss Margo must feel is akin to my dad's: you lose a large part of yourself. I take comfort in knowing my mom lives on in her students. As hard as it is now, Margo should rejoice in knowing Richard and his teaching lives on in us and his legacy will continue as we pass on a part of him to those who follow."
Wayne C. Matus, UBS AG, NY