Philip Allen Lacovara: A Distinguished Legal Career at the Intersection of History
Philip Allen Lacovara’s remarkable legal career spans some of the most pivotal moments in modern American jurisprudence. Born in 1943 to the children of Italian immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Lacovara overcame early discrimination to build an extraordinary professional legacy.
After excelling at Columbia Law School, Lacovara served as special assistant to Thurgood Marshall in the Solicitor General’s office before Marshall’s Supreme Court appointment. At just 24, he was arguing cases before the high court under Solicitor General Erwin Griswold.
Lacovara’s most impactful work came during Watergate, where he served as counsel to the special prosecutor and played a crucial role in the Nixon tapes Supreme Court litigation. He provides firsthand accounts of the “Saturday Night Massacre” and the constitutional battles over executive privilege that continue to resonate today.
Beyond his government service, Lacovara worked as corporate counsel for GE and Morgan Stanley—particularly meaningful given his father’s exclusion from Wall Street due to anti-Italian discrimination. As a law professor and D.C. Bar president, he championed legal ethics and pro bono service.
Currently, Lacovara remains an outspoken defender of the rule of law, offering sharp criticism of the 2024 Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. United States, which he ranks among history’s most dangerous judicial misjudgments alongside Dred Scott and Korematsu.
Read the complete oral history here.