Charles Moerdler
Charles Gerard Moerdler is a French-American lawyer who is a partner in the law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, and has been on the editorial board of the New York Law Journal since 1986. He has served on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority since 2010 as the Chair of Bridges and Tunnels. He has also been active in public service. He has served on the New York City Housing Development Corp, New York City Board of Collective Bargaining and since 1977 has served as the vice chairman of the Committee on Character and Fitness of Applicants to the Bar of the State of New York. In 1986, he was appointed as a trustee of St. Barnabas Hospital.
Early life and education
Charles Moerdler was born in Paris, France, on November 15, 1934, to Hermann and Erna Anna Moerdler. His parents were German citizens and, thus, without passports. A few years after he was born, the family returned to Germany. In order to escape World War II, Charles and his mother left Gdańsk, Poland, on September 1, 1939, for England. His father was not able to escape and was murdered by the Nazis in 1942. Moerdler and his mother lived in England until 1946. He attended Saint Stephens Grammar School in London and Saint Clement Danes School, graduating in 1946. In 1947, Moerdler, his mother, and stepfather, Michael Schwartz, migrated to the United States. He served as President of the New York Young Republican Club from 1966 to 1967.He received a B.A. degree from Long Island University in 1953 and a J.D. degree from Fordham University in 1956. In 1956, he was admitted to the New York Bar. He has been admitted to practice by the Second, Fifth, Seventh and Eight Circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Moerdler received the Walker Metcalf Award from Long Island University in 1966 and a Castle Award from Manhattanville College in 2005.