Lichtman, Robert M. 1933-

PERSONAL:

Born July 5, 1933, in New York, NY; son of Ben (a lawyer) and Goldie (a bookkeeper) Lichtman; married, 1957; wife's name Marilyn V. (divorced, 1983); companion of Susan Schneeberg Bronstein (a college teacher); children: Ellen H., David B., Judith E. Education: University of Chicago, A.B., 1952, J.D., 1955. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Calistoga, CA. Office—Kastner Banchero, 20 California St., 7th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94111.

CAREER:

Lichtman, Abeles & Anker, Washington, DC, founding partner, 1969-76; Wald, Harkrader & Ross, Washington, DC, partner, 1977-85; Berg, Ziegler, Lichtman & Anderson (and predecessor firm), San Francisco, CA, partner, 1986-93; Kastner Banchero (and predecessor firms), San Francisco, counsel, 1994—. Military service: U.S. Naval Reserve, active duty, 1956-57.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa, Coif.

WRITINGS:

(With Ronald D. Cohen) Deadly Farce: Harvey Matusow and the Informer System in the McCarthy Era, University of Illinois Press (Urbana, IL), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including American Communist History.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert M. Lichtman told CA: "I was of college age and then in military service during the McCarthy era and vividly remember its impact. Throughout a long and all-consuming career as a practicing lawyer in Washington, DC, and San Francisco, I always had in mind writing about the era. In the mid-1990s, I began to practice law only on a part-time basis and to spend the remainder of my time engaged in research and writing on McCarthy-era topics. Primary sources (archival papers, FBI files, etc.) are central to my work. I find that I cannot wholly segregate the research and writing functions: I research until I am able to begin writing and then pursue both functions almost simultaneously until the manuscript is complete. Because I am not a formally trained historian, I have tried to select relatively narrow topics and to do intensive research, so that I am able to say ‘This happened! whether or not I have drawn the correct inferences from it—and I have abundant sources to show that it happened!’"