Attorneys across a range of fields — civil rights to entertainment law – have made an indelible mark in legal affairs.
Elliot Blair, an Orange County public defender who died of severe head trauma according to family sources, died due to acute internal hemorrhaging.
Lawyers and judges who knew him praised his tenacity inside and outside of courtroom settings.
Charles Ogletree
Charles Ogletree was a mentor of Barack and Michelle Obama as they navigated their legal careers as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were mentored as Black lawyers by Ogletree in Maryland. At 70, Charles passed away.
Ogletree was an incredible attorney with an unflagging work ethic and had immense impact well beyond the classroom and courtroom. As one of the foremost advocates for racial equality and social justice, using his position as law professor at Harvard to advise generations of Harvard students – including Barack Obama.
Ogletree represented high-profile clients such as Anita Hill during her confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Tupac Shakur in civil and criminal matters, as well as filing a suit to seek reparations for victims of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Ogletree fought tirelessly on behalf of voices often ignored or overlooked; whether famous or not. Ogletree also revealed his diagnosis publicly and took steps to reduce stigma attached to Alzheimer’s disease, which disproportionately affects African American communities.
Jake Bloom
Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP’s co-founder has represented top Hollywood talent since 1948, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Busey, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham among many others.
Bloom earned an enviable reputation as an effective negotiator after graduating from Columbia College and Cornell Law School, drawing upon his larger-than-life persona and jet set relationships to maximize client leverage with studios. Furthermore, he was known as an active philanthropist, supporting numerous foundations and organizations such as Hunger Coalition as well as Idaho hunger relief initiatives.
Bloom’s death comes at a critical juncture: the firm that he and partner Alan Hergott founded — whom Johnny Depp sued in 2017 over an improper management contract — has asked Judge Michael Green to postpone the high-priced trial now set for September, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled this week.
Elliot Blair
Elliot Blair, 33, who died while vacationing in Rosarito Beach, Baja California was on his third-floor balcony when he fell to his death and is being mourned by his family and local officials alike.
Kimberly Williams, his wife, believes a fall would not make sense given their occupations as Orange County public defenders.
Family members say they have spoken with a coroner’s liaison, who informed them of an autopsy which showed Blair died due to severe head trauma and his case has since been sent over to the district attorney to be investigated for possible homicide charges; a toxicology report was yet to be completed.
The family has hired a private pathologist to review the autopsy report and other evidence. A preliminary pathology report indicates 40 fractures on Blair’s back skull; however, full analysis may take weeks.
David Aylor
Aylor was a highly respected attorney in Charleston who established an illustrious law practice throughout South Carolina’s Lowcountry and Grand Strand areas. He earned both his undergraduate degree in political science from College of Charleston as well as his law degree at University of South Carolina School of Law.
According to Charleston County Coroner Bobbi O’Neal, an autopsy report shows Aylor died due to accidental drug overdose caused by a combination of substances present in his system including fentanyl which is 50 times stronger than heroin and clonazepam which is commonly prescribed to ease anxiety.
Aylor was widely respected among Charleston legal community, famed for his quick wit and fierce representation. His death comes at a time when South Carolina lawmakers are actively working toward passing an anti-fentanyl trafficking law.