An Afternoon With Ed Hayes, Celebrated Litigator and Memoirist
What draws people to the practice of law? Some do it for the paycheck, some do it for the prestige, and some do it for the excitement and fun of it all. Veteran New York litigator Edward Hayes belongs firmly in the final camp. Although he has amassed fame and fortune over almost four decades of practicing law, his legal career reflects a quest for adventure. And what adventures Hayes has had....
We took the Long Island Rail Road to Patchogue station, where we were met by Ed Hayes’s neighbor, Loretta Drew — a cheerful and chatty Bellport real estate agent, who picked us up in her sleek black Mercedes. As we drove along, Hayes and Drew discussed Bellport politics and the local real estate market. (The latter is doing decently; “things are moving in the low and the high ranges,” Drew reported. For example, she recently sold a seven-bedroom house, on one and a half acres, for $2.6 million.)
They also talked about a town resident convicted of a white-collar crime. This led me to ask Hayes: when you represent criminal defendants, do they tell you the full story, as their lawyer?
“My gangster clients are honest about their deeds,” said Hayes. “It’s the so-called ‘legitimate’ people who try to minimize and rationalize at first, before eventually coming clean.”
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In short, he quipped, “people with guns are more forthright than people with pens.”
We made a quick stop at Del Fiore Italian Pork Store, where Hayes picked up provisions for lunch: fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto, and raisin semolina bread. Then we drove into Bellport, past a stately country club and gracious old homes set on rolling green lawns.
After driving down a street lined on both sides with trees that formed a shadeful canopy, we reached the water’s edge — and Hayes’s house. It’s a beautiful shingle-style house, built around 1900, that Hayes has owned for over 25 years. Here are views of the exterior:
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