Reidenberg, Louis M. We are sad to announce that Lou Reidenberg died at 81 years of age in Highland Beach, FL on 5/1/2021. Preceded in death by his parents Bernard and Beatrice (Rauer). Survived by sons Daniel and Jeffrey (Kristi), granddaughter Taylor, Pam Westberg, his dog LG, other family and many friends. Born and raised in Phila, PA, his family moved to Florida when he was in high school. He went on to graduate from the U of Miami then moved to MN for Law School. After graduation he clerked at the MN Supreme Court followed by having an illustrious and successful private practice for 45+ years specializing in divorce, custody and child abuse litigation. Lou was an author, lecturer and often quoted lawyer in the press. He received numerous awards including Best Lawyers in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who among Outstanding Americans and last year he was recognized by his peers and judges as being in the "Top 5% of Lawyers in America." At his core Lou was a trial lawyer. Many stories are still told about his self-made style of practicing law and taking depositions that are legendary and have been portrayed on television. The most well known heart attack story was real. It occurred during the Reidenberg & Jaycox era at the Southgate office in Bloomington one afternoon in the early 80s. The same office where another opposing client left a bomb in the garbage can that resulted in the building being evacuated by the bomb squad. Over his career several articles were written about Lou, the most famous was when he was featured in the article "Lou's Law: When the Going Gets Tough, Divorce Lawyer Reidenberg Becomes the Toughest." The title of the article referenced the TV show LA Law that included a character based in part on Lou. MN Lawyer featured him in an article "The divorce lawyer that family law lawyers love to hate" and Mpls./St. Paul Magazine called him "The toughest divorce lawyer in town." His cases created laws and his clients included judges, lawyers and celebrities from Minnesota, other states and around the world. Little known but Lou was the first lawyer in the state's notorious Congdon-Caldwell murder case. He represented Majorie in her divorce years prior to the murder then brought in Doug Thompson and Ronald Meshbesher for the criminal cases and was involved in both trials as well as acting as Guardian ad Litem for her youngest son at the time. Lou was liked by his clients, feared by other lawyers, despised by opposing parties, and highly respected by judges. One attorney said to a reporter: "When a client tells you that the other side will be represented by Lou, it's tempting to do one of two things refuse the case or double your retainer." In fact, most of his clients were referred by opposing clients, other lawyers and judges so much that he never advertised. Over the last 20 years he trained hundreds of lawyers across the country for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and assisted many lawyers in foster care cases in south Florida. He recently co-wrote two law review articles published on rights of children to have their own representation as well as recently proposed legislation to mandate children be represented by their own lawyers. While still practicing he helped over a dozen Florida organizations for children as a board member and volunteer and was recognized in 2014 by the Legal Aid Society with the Emeritus Award "For his knowledge and passion for protecting those who are most vulnerable." He always had a dog and he loved the Miami Hurricane football team. Lou deeply loved Pam and their life together. Lou and Pam attended countless games together over the years when they were not traveling around the world. However his pride, joy and the most important thing in the world to Lou were his two sons that he spoke to every day. In 1970 artist Aldo Luongo drew a picture of a father with his son and upon hearing about Lou created a one-of-a-kind version depicting Lou, Dan and Jeff that hung in his office and home where he could always see it. Due to Covid-19 there will be a private interment with his immediate family in Florida. A celebration of life will be held at a later date when Covid restrictions end. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the organization his son runs SAVE.org. Condolence messages can be sent to: dreidenberg@save.org.

Published on May 9, 2021