PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOSEPH CREA ’47, who taught
at Brooklyn Law School for more than 60 years and was a
passionate champion of students, faculty, and excellence in
legal education, died Aug. 2, 2019, at the age of 104.
“Professor Joseph Crea was a giant in the history of
Brooklyn Law School,” said Stuart Subotnick ’68, chairman
emeritus of the Board of Trustees. “His life was nothing
short of extraordinary, and his impact on the Law School
will endure for generations to come.”
“There has been no more enthusiastic supporter of
Brooklyn Law School, and quite possibly no single person
who has shaped its history more, than Professor Joseph
Crea,” said Dean Michael T. Cahill. “He was an icon,
admired and beloved in equal measure by his students
and colleagues, touching countless lives across the entire
span of his own life. Joe’s intellect, energy, courage, and
selflessness will never be replicated, or forgotten.”
Joseph Crea’s road to his career in law began in the
1930s when, while delivering bread in the Flatbush
neighborhood of Brooklyn, he found a stack of soaking wet
law books. He took them home, dried them out, read them,
and decided he would one day become a lawyer.
He was recruited to work at the Selective Service System
just before the United States entered World War II; he was
later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. Crea
applied to the Law School in 1944, only to be rejected because
he could not commit to attending classes five nights per week.
Undeterred, he convinced then Dean Jerome Prince of his
work ethic and secured a spot, taking classes out of order or
simply reading textbooks instead when he could not make his
schedule work.
That winding journey
culminated in a job offer
in the library from Dean
Prince, and a year later
he became an instructor.
In the early years of his
career, he taught nearly
every course in the
curriculum.
“ I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for Professor Joseph Crea,” said renowned entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman ’67, founding partner of Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
Crea became known
as one of the Law School’s
most enthusiastic and
animated professors. His
famous catchphrases,
including “Never drop
your briefcase and run,” are still frequently used by his
former students. He taught at the Law School until 2014,
continually advising
faculty members
and participating in
admissions committee
meetings.
He also played
a major role in
modernizing the
curriculum at the Law
School, helping to
raise the Law School’s
standing and reputation
on a national level. He
advised more than a
half dozen deans and
advocated for better
compensation to attract
and retain faculty.
Former Dean Joan
Wexler once called
him a “shadow dean”
who always put the
interests of the school
before his own.
In 2000, in recognition of his contributions to the Law
School community, the Joseph Crea Dean chair was established
in his name. The Regina and Joseph Crea Memorial Scholarship
was established by alumni and friends in memory of Crea’s
beloved wife, Regina. The Professor Joseph Crea Reading Room
in the Brooklyn Law School Library is named in his honor. He
also was honored in 2015 as an Icon of Brooklyn Law School at a
gala celebration on Ellis Island.
He was the author of A Guide to Legal Research, served on
a Mayor’s Committee
for the Selection of
Marshals, and served
as judge advocate for
a veterans’ group. He
has also been honored
with a Distinguished
Achievement Award by
his alma mater, Brooklyn
College.
Crea is survived by
his daughters Catharine
Crea, Regina Mysliwiec
(Ronald), Lorraine
Crea, and Elizabeth
Crea ’98 (Gloria Greco ’98); three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.