Arthur "Buddy" Lemann III, a noted New Orleans criminal defense attorney who represented accused mob bosses, alleged pedophile priests and other high-profile clients over a long career, died Dec. 30. He was 81 years old.
Lemann died peacefully at his home after a six-month illness, according to his son, Arthur Lemann IV.
Lemann's legal career, which began in the 1960s, saw him represent some of Louisiana's most notorious defendants. Alleged Mafia don Carlos Marcello; priest Dino Cinel; political operative Mose Jefferson, the brother of former U.S. Bill Jefferson, who later was convicted of federal bribery charges; and Gov. Edwin Edwards confidant Robert Guidry were among the people Lemann represented.
'Dragon Slayer'
Lemann's aggressive and often-adversarial courtroom style won acquittals for defendants and earned him the nickname "Dragon Slayer," which he incorporated into his 1998 legal memoir "Hail to the Dragon Slayer," a colorful recounting of many of his courtroom exploits.
"He was a hero to me and a legend to everybody," said longtime colleague Ralph Whalen. "He was fearless."
Lemann's distinctly New Orleans style and the intensity of his work won him love from clients and respect -- even if grudging -- from prosecutors.
"Buddy didn't pull any punches," Ralph Capitelli, an attorney and longtime friend, recalled.
"He was truly a New Orleans original in a very good sense of the term," he said. "He knew the city and the different parts of the city and the makeup of the neighborhoods."
Early in the mornings, Lemann could often be spotted walking his dog in Audubon Park.
'Gift for argument'
Lemann could be adversarial and had a gift for argument, both spoken and in writing, friends said.
"I always enjoyed reading his briefs," Whalen recalled.
Another friend, longtime attorney Frank DeSalvo, called Lemann's writing in legal filings "flowery," with a lot of analogies. It's a style that could only work for Lemann, DeSalvo said.
"His way was different from everybody else's," DeSalvo recalled. "It was fun to read."
On at least one occasion, Lemann submitted a brief written in the style of a play. On another, he sarcastically noted that it had been easier to get some of his clients released from jail than it was to get his beloved terrier Kelso released by the SPCA after the dog got loose and was picked up on a weekend.
Lemann's intensity and dedication to his clients earned him the admiration of some with whom he tangled.
"He was a force to be reckoned with," former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten recalled. "He was fierce, always well-prepared."
Lemann's work as the first director of the Loyola University Law Clinic, where he shepherded law students through some of their first courtroom work defending indigent clients, benefitted the entire legal community, Letten said.
"I had prosecutors working with me who had great affection for him because they had worked with him in that program," Letten said. "He made his mark across a very broad spectrum."
High-profile cases
Lemann was good friends with another New Orleans legal legend, former Criminal District Court Judge Frank Marullo. The two met at Loyola Law School, where they first teamed up to create a cash business where they sold lighters and trinkets in bars around Louisiana.
The two later would cross paths in Marullo's New Orleans courtroom. Marullo once threatened to throw Lemann in jail for stepping out of line in his courtroom, and he was on the bench for one of Lemann's most famous acquittals, that of Cinel.
Cinel was a professor and priest who was discovered to have videotaped himself having sex with young men in a church rectory and who possessed child pornography. When he eventually faced prosecution, Lemann was able to win him an acquittal in 1995 by arguing that Cinel had acquired the child pornography before the 1986 law that made its possession a crime.
Results like that helped drive high-profile clients to him, Capitelli said.
The Buddy Lemann the public saw in court was not far from the Buddy Lemann his family saw around the dining room table, said his son.
"Generally, he was a force of nature at home as well, he loved sharing his work," Arthur Lemann IV said. "There were many Sunday evening dinners where we had robust discussions about his cases and trials."
Lemann is survived by four siblings, his wife Roberta Ann, and four children: Rachel, Arthur IV, Amy and Jonathan.
A visitation is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in New Orleans. A funeral Mass will follow at noon.