John French argued complex cases from Minnesota courtrooms to the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 40 years of practice at Minneapolis-based Faegre & Benson.
Tom Morgan, a former managing partner of what is now Faegre Baker Daniels, said French's unassuming brilliance, coupled with his humility and skills as a recruiter and mentor, helped Faegre become one of the largest and most successful law firms in the Midwest.
French died Friday at age 79 at his Minneapolis home, surrounded by family and close friends, following a long illness.
French, the son of a minister, graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota, was president of the Harvard Law Review and came to Faegre in 1963.
"Much of the trial work that John did was appellate work in the federal courts," Morgan recalled. "He had a reputation for being a superb appellate lawyer with just flawless arguments. The tradition is the lawyer can barely get a word out without the court interrupting. ... John was seldom interrupted. He read the tea leaves, he understood the pivot points of a case and spoke to the issues at hand with eloquence.
"He also was such a fine person. I never heard John French say an unkind word about anyone. He brought out the best in everyone. He recognized the array of talent we had and helped people to excel at what they did best. He helped us collaborate. John French is revered around here."
French made his mark in DFL politics when party chair Warren Spannaus asked him to chair the troubled 1968 Minnesota DFL convention.
The faithful were split between the followers of Sen. Eugene McCarthy, the Minnesota maverick who had challenged President Lyndon Johnson over the unpopular Vietnam War, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, the Minnesotan who won the party's nomination for president.
