William D. Friedmann graduated from Hunter College of the City University of New York before earning his law degree from New York University School of Law in 1952. He began practicing law at the firm of O’Brien, Driscoll and Raftery in New York, holding that position until 1967. He also served as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County from 1962 to 1963. He was a senior partner at Friedmann, Fischman and Chikofsky from 1967 to 1976. During the following two years he held several public service positions in New York City, including commissioner and general counsel for the Environmental Administration, chief counsel for the state Assembly’s Committee on the Judiciary, coordinator of the Mayor’s Hazardous Matter Task Force and Emergency Energy Coordinator. In 1978, Friedmann founded William D. Friedmann & Associates in Flushing, where he practiced until 1980. Additionally, Friedmann served as counsel for the Democratic minority for the New York Senate in 1980.
Friedmann joined the bench in 1981 when he became a Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York. Then, in 1984, he became a Justice of the Supreme Court in Queens County. He was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department in 1994. He retired in 2003.
Friedmann was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy as a Pharmacist’s Mate, 3rd class. His memberships included the Boy Scouts of America, The Queens Historical Society and the Flushing Senior Citizens Council.
He was married to Sandra Scully Friedmann and had two children, Dana and William Jr., and three grandchildren. He died in White Plains on August 30, 2010 at the age of 83.
Sources
Appellate Division, Second Department, 100th Anniversary. 26. The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York, 1996. Web. 15 Nov 2011. http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/pdf/Library/Courts/App_Div_Sec_Dept_100th_Anniv.pdf.
“Wed. 09/01 – Death Notices – Page 2 – New York Daily News.” Featured Articles From The New York Daily News. 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wed-09-01-death-notices-article-1.207293.
“William D. Friedmann.” New York Law Journal 1 Sept. 2010, Obituary sec. Print.