William H. Ginsburg

Ginsburg, whose Los Angeles, California-based practice had previously concentrated on medical malpractice, was a friend of the Lewinsky family. Ginsburg represented Lewinsky for four months, before being fired. He also was involved in the case of the death of college basketball star Hank Gathers, as well as the legal dispute regarding the remains of entertainer Liberace and the landmark Meneeley v. National Spa & Pool Institute case over diving injuries in a sub-standard swimming pool. He tried more than 300 cases in 21 states and participated in more than 350 mediations/arbitrations.[2]

In more recent times, his name has been connected to a slang term derived from a feat he accomplished on February 1, 1998, when he appeared on all five of television's major Sunday morning talk shows, the first person known to have done so. The feat is now known as the "full Ginsburg."[3]

Ginsburg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a lawyer who had worked on Lyndon Johnson's Senate staff. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in the early 1950s. Ginsburg graduated from Hamilton High School and studied political science and drama at University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. there in 1964. He received his law degree from USC in 1967 and passed the California bar examination in 1968. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and served as a member of the LA Chapter Executive Committee. He was a national board member and President and Trustee of the American Board of Trial Advocates Foundation.

Ginsburg died April 1, 2013, at his Sherman Oaks, California home after a battle with cancer one week after his 70th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Laura; children David, Maxwell and Sasha; his mother, Sylvia; a brother, Kenneth; and two grandchildren.[4]

• New York Times list of articles about William H. Ginsburg