Arthur Loevy, attorney who worked police misconduct and wrongful conviction cases with his son, dies at 87

Arthur Loevy, an attorney and labor leader who came out of retirement to work with his son at Loevy & Loevy, a powerhouse in wrongful convictions and police misconduct litigation, died Saturdayafter suffering a brain bleed in his sleep, family said. He was 87.

The firm is nationally recognized for winning multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements, often fighting the city of Chicago's Law Department for every dollar.

Mr. Loevy was a master negotiator who honed his skills for decades as a leader with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union fighting for worker's rights in tension-filled bargaining sessions.

He also previously worked for the Cook County Police Association, a group that helped suburban police departments unionize and negotiate contracts.

In 1998 he came out of retirement to practice law at a firm opened by his son, Jon Loevy.

Mr. Loevy was humble, but his experience quickly became an asset.

"He started at the bottom, with 30-year-olds bossing him around, but we quickly realized he knew more than all of us combined and was the best negotiator we'd ever met, and he became the heart and soul of the place," Jon Loevy said.

"He had spent his career negotiating union contracts against the toughest guys you could ever imagine — so he came in pretty well versed, and it was like watching an NBA player against junior varsity most of the time," he said.

(Loevy & Loevy represents the Sun-Times in Freedom of Information Act cases.)

Mr. Loevy worked out of a conference room at the firm's West Loop office. Younger attorneys regularly stopped in to pick his brain.

"He could come up with a strategy and could get to the bottom of a matter in like 10 seconds," said attorney Matt Topic, who learned how to be confident at the negotiating table from watching Mr. Loevy.

"When the other side got agitated, he would remain calm ... and it's a total flex. It shows your confidence and strengthens your position," said Topic.

"He is the only person I've ever seen who could stare down and shout down a federal judge during a settlement conference," said attorney Steve Greenberg.

"He was always behind the scenes, but all the success we've had we owe to him and we're grateful," Jon Loevy said.

Mr. Loevy was born March 21, 1939, to Carl and Rose Loevy and grew up on Chicago's North Side. His father worked at a furniture store and his mother was a homemaker. Mr. Loevy attended Von Steuben High School, Carleton College and the University of Michigan Law School.

"He got out of law school could have done anything and decided to get involved in the union movement and make sure people were treated and paid fairly," Jon Loevy said.

"He was a big deal in the movement," he said, adding that he was recently looking at old photos of his father with Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy and Richard M. Daley.

In recent years, Mr. Loevy carried a leather briefcase and wore a jacket and a tie to a largely informal law office.

"He never got a cell phone and didn't use email to communicate, so he never got distracted," his son said.

"He came to work the day before he died, as he did every day of the week, and contributed just as he always did and was absolutely 100% sharp, had not slipped an inch," said his son. "And he died in his sleep and went out on top of his game. He could not have scripted it better."

Mr. Loevy, who most recently lived in a Gold Coast condo, made a habit of taking his watch off his wrist and giving to his son before closing arguments at a trial.

"Since he wasn't very sentimental, that was as close to sentimental as we ever got," Jon Loevy said.

Mr. Loevy also served on the executive board of the Chicago Federation of Labor, as a board member for Amalgamated Bank, and as a trustee of the Textile Workers Pension Fund.

In addition to his son, Jon, Mr. Loevy, who raised his family in Northbrook, is survived by is wife, Barbette Loevy, his daughters Karen Horowitz and Debra Loevy, and nine grandchildren. Services have been held.