Michael Klein’s $2 million gift – the largest ever made to the Law School – was his way of saying “thanks” to his alma mater.
“Miami gave me the money to go to school. I’m of the view that you pay back and provide opportunities to other people,” said Klein, J.D. ’66, whose gift will establish the Michael Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair.
“The Chair will be used to attract an outstanding legal scholar to the Law School. We are excited and thankful for Michael’s gift and look to all of our alumni to continue in this wonderful tradition of giving back to their alma mater,” Dean Lynch said.
Klein was born in New York but sent to live with his uncle in Florida after his father died when he was six years old. He credits his uncle, Abraham Aronovitz – a lawyer by profession and Miami’s mayor from 1953 to 1955 – with teaching him that being a lawyer always should be about helping others and making a positive contribution to society.
“My uncle was an extraordinary person. He was my idol,” said Klein, who also received a bachelor’s degree from UM and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School where, as a Brandeis Fellow, he focused his studies on urban legal problems.
Upon graduation from Harvard, Klein joined the law faculty at Louisiana State University and taught a class called Urban Legal Problems. In 1969, after two years at LSU, Klein decided to give law practice a try and moved to Washington, D.C. to work at Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP (called Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP since its merger in 2004 with Hale and Dorr). Under the wing of Manuel Cohen, who had been Chairman of the SEC before joining Wilmer Cutler, Klein developed an impressive securities practice. During his career, he was actively involved in taking companies public and taking them private, investigating companies in connection with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, testifying at congressional hearings, and successfully litigating a number of cases in opposition to federal agencies.
“Wilmer Cutler has probably been one of half a dozen of premier law firms. It has always had an unbelievably wonderful collection of extremely bright people who are socially and professionally responsible,” said Klein. “I was extraordinarily lucky to find a law firm that sees law as a higher calling.”
Klein’s success has not been limited to the law. In 1987, while continuing to practice at Wilmer Cutler, he formed CoStar Group, a company that offers brokers and financial investors a comprehensive database, which allows them to acquire a more complete picture of their markets and properties. The company went public in 1998 at $9 a share; today, its shares sell for $45.
“As a lawyer in the mid-1980’s, I lived through the savings and loan crisis. Among the things that I did was investigate what caused the failure. I noticed that there was no external data available to verify or call into question the accuracy of the information the savings and loans were given. I saw there was a need for collecting useful data for real estate investments and filled that need,” said Klein, who is also involved on the board of directors of several other companies, such as Perini Corporation, SRA International, Inc. and ASTAR Air Cargo, Inc. (formerly DHL Airways).
“Michael Klein is a brilliant corporate and securities lawyer with an uncanny talent for the propitious business deal,” Professor Mary Doyle said.
While Klein is still a partner at Wilmer Cutler and continues to represent a couple of his close friends, his main current focus is his job as president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, an organization that recognizes outstanding contemporary writers of fiction.
“I prefer cutting edge, contemporary art and literature. I enjoy the adventure of discovering rather than simply partaking of the classics,” Klein said.
More important to Klein, however, is the Foundation’s “Writers in Schools” program. Through this program, eleventh grade teachers at urban public high schools are provided copies of a particular novel to distribute to their classes. After the students have read the novel, the author visits the students to discuss the novel with them. About 50 schools in Washington, D.C. and a few schools in Detroit, Atlanta and Kansas City participate in the program. Klein’s main goal as president is to spread the program to schools in at least 10 additional cities across the United States.
“In the world in which we live, fewer people are reading. This is an opportunity to make a contribution to both fiction and literacy,” Klein said.
Klein’s helping hand extends far beyond his backyard. He’s a member of the American Himalayan Foundation, which provides education, health care, and cultural preservation to the people of the Himalaya. Among its many projects, the Foundation supports various schools in the Everest area, sponsors a clinic that treats about 200,000 patients a year, and operates an orthopedic hospital for impoverished children who are born with deformities or have broken limbs.
Additionally, the Foundation helped restore sacred monasteries in various cities and trained local artisans so they can continue the restoration process in other monasteries throughout the area. Klein admits that he was brought to tears when he recently visited some of the restored monasteries with his son, Niko, 22.
“Life is short and art is glorious. Life can pass you by in the blink of an eye. I’m just trying to grab a hold of every experience while I can,” said Klein, who also co-founded an art gallery, Zenith Gallery, and a French restaurant, Le Paradou, in Washington, D.C.
This summer that means spending quality time with his family in Aspen. He and his wife, Joan Fabry, a prominent architect in the Washington, D.C. area, have two sons, Niko, who just graduated from Columbia University and Sasha, 17, who is busy attending cooking school and writing for The Aspen Times during the summer.
“Niko wants to cure the world of all its ills. Sasha also wants to save the world but wants to eat well while doing it,” Klein said. “My wife is a beautiful, bright, extraordinarily good human being. She’s a caring, decent, well-grounded person. She makes me a better person.”
“[Michael Klein] is a Renaissance man and citizen of the world. He and his equally talented architect wife, Joany Fabry, have been for many years leading patrons of the fine arts; their house is adorned with provocative works of many young artists. An intrepid traveler, Mike has developed an affinity for the people and cultures of the Himalayas, and has done much good there,” Professor Doyle said. “Gourmand, restaurateur and connoisseur of the finer things in life, Mike’s brilliance and great taste are only surpassed by his big heart. Throughout his life, Mike has looked out for others, lent a helping hand, and practiced charitable works. His proud alma mater is delighted and grateful to be the object of his remarkable generosity.”
Dean Lynch agrees.
He said, “The Law School’s mission is to educate similarly talented citizens of the world who are committed to making a positive contribution to society. It is fitting that Michael Klein’s generous gift will help the Law School to fulfill that mission.”
