Robert M. Landis, 84, lawyer

By Sally A. Downey INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: January 05, 2005

Robert M. Landis, 84, of Gladwyne, a lawyer and civic leader, died Saturday of lymphoma at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

For almost 50 years, Mr. Landis was associated with Dechert, Price & Rhoads, now Dechert, in Philadelphia. He was a partner and former chairman of the firm and remained counsel after retiring in the late 1980s. He loved the courtroom and the study of law, his former secretary, Delores Kornblatt, said.

Early in his career, Mr. Landis served as a deputy city solicitor for Philadelphia. He was chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1970 and was later president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He was past president of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1980s, he served two terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia.

Mr. Landis was director of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition; president of the Fellowship Commission of Philadelphia; and chairman of the Children's Aid Society of Pennsylvania.

A bibliophile, he served on the board of the University of Pennsylvania Press and Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co., and he was legal consultant for Houghton's American Heritage Dictionary. For several years, he reviewed books about law and justice for the former Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

Mr. Landis was a native of Berks County. He earned a bachelor's degree from Franklin and Marshall College and later served on its board. He met his future wife, Elizabeth Hatton, while attending the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His law school career was interrupted by Army service in Europe during World War II. After his discharge, he earned a law degree from Penn in 1947 and was editor of the law review. He joined Dechert after graduation.

His wife of 50 years died in 1996. He is survived by his sons Christopher and Geoffrey; a sister; a grandson; and beloved friend Cordelia Clement.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr. Memorial donations may be made to the Franklin and Marshall College Scholarship Fund, Box 3003, Lancaster, Pa. 17604.

Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.

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