Sarasota Magazine Highlights Founder Lee Kreindler's Legacy in Aviation Law
November 25, 2024
While Lee Kreindler passed away in 2003, his legacy lives on. This year, his wife Ruth published The Fight for Justice: Lee Kreindler and Lockerbie. The book celebrates the profound impact of Lee’s work and offers a deeply personal glimpse into his life and character.
A recent article in Sarasota Magazine highlights Ruth’s book and the enduring legacy of Lee Kreindler as a pioneering figure in aviation law. He founded Kreindler & Kreindler in 1950 with his father Harry Kreindler, laying the foundation for a firm that continues to lead in the field. In 1963, Lee authored Aviation Accident Law, a seminal three-volume treatise that remains a cornerstone for aviation attorneys today.
One of Lee Kreindler’s landmark cases, highlighted in Ruth’s book, is his pivotal work litigating the tragic bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. On December 21, 1988, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, claimed 270 lives, including 190 Americans, in what became the most significant air disaster case of the 20th century. Lee Kreindler’s work on behalf of the victims’ families led to a landmark $3 billion settlement against Pan Am Airlines and the country of Libya. His legal strategy established an important precedent for holding state sponsors of terrorism accountable through litigation, and the three-phase settlement in 2003 marked a pivotal achievement for both the victims’ families and the legal community. This victory was a turning point in his career, reshaping his perspective on what it truly means to advocate for victims.
Lee cared about the clients. He didn’t just want to win cases; he wanted to make a difference. To Lee, it was never just about the law—it was about the people he was fighting for.
Lee’s legacy of client excellence lives on with the attorneys at Kreindler & Kreindler, who constantly seek innovative ways to advocate for better regulation, corporate accountability, and consumer rights as the aviation industry expands each year. Today, almost 75 years after Lee founded the firm, Kreindler partners have been lead counsel or co-lead counsel in almost every major aviation accident case, with justice always as a guiding principle.