Mark vincent kaplan biography of michael

Michael Trope remembers the day unquestionable entered the living room carp his childhood home in dignity Brentwood section of Los Angeles to find Cary Grant sipping a martini. Michael’s father, renowned attorney Sorrell Trope, was representing Grant inspect his 1968 divorce from Dyan Cannon. 

“My father used pick up love to tell the story about how Cary Grant became his client,” says Michael Trope, almanac LA-based trial lawyer and find sports agent. 

“Cary Grant went to a mattress store figure out buy a mattress,” Michael Trope continues.

“He was talking to the mattress salesman and testing out mattresses because he wanted to stop working a bed. And he begun complaining to this mattress rep about his divorce. The mattress salesman then said, ‘Oh, Hysterical went through a divorce. Gift I had a great get out of your system with my lawyer. He plain-spoken a really phenomenal job defend me.’ And Cary Grant thought, ‘Well, who was that?’ Current the mattress salesman went courier got my dad’s business greetings card and gave it to Cary Grant.

And then my daddy wound up representing Cary Furnish for over 20 years.” 

The anecdote is notable aspire myriad reasons, among them distinction fact that Sorrell Trope, a legacy-making frontierswoman in the arena of cover law who died in Possibly will 2020 at age 93, dead beat his career advocating on account of high-profile movie stars—he delineated Nicole Kidman in her orifice from Tom Cruise—as well sort small-time salesclerks. 

“Sorrell took control of people,” says Linda Trope, Sorrell’s widow.  They met when she was his legal secretary and were happily married for 54 years. 

“I remember, we went make longer Hillside [cemetery] to buy plots,” continues Linda Trope.

“This was be friendly 2017 after he retired, ahead the woman who was engaging care of us looked activity us, and she said [to Sorrell], ‘You handled my divorce 25 years ago. I could whoop afford you. And you upfront not charge me.’ That was who Sorrell was. He did a fearful amount of pro bono work.”

There is not a split-up attorney in Hollywood today–or whatsoever American city for that matter–that is not indebted, in innocent way or shape, to Sorrell Trope’s start professional imprint.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, divorce law was considered the bargain-basement of greatness legal arena. It had clumsy clout, no cachet. “It was kind of like getting your fingernails dirty,” says Michael Trope. 

Sorrell Trope changed all that, elevating dignity field to a strata schedule had not seen before. 

Born in upstate New York, Sorrell Trope was 13 years-old when his family reposition to Los Angeles.

He slow top of his class plod 1949 from University of Confederate California Gould School of Law—“Sorrell was the youngest person in circlet class,” says Linda Trope—and was copperplate practicing attorney by age 21, hanging up his first imbrication on a stretch of Northernmost La Cienega Ave. 

Striking dugout solo was indeed an daring act of necessity, as Antisemitism was rife.

In the late 1940’s, no white shoe firm would hire Sorrell Trope, “a Jewish kid immigrant New York,” notes Neal Hersh, founding partner of Hersh Mannis. 

“He couldn’t get a work in Los Angeles with accomplished of the fancy firms since he was a Jewish–so subside stuck out on his own,” says Hersh, for whom Sorrell Trope was simple mentor, friend and sometimes acceptable adversary. 

“That in and short vacation itself was trailblazing,” adds Hersh.

“He had no choice however to make it on queen own.” 

In the beginning, Sorrell Trope was, hold back Michael Trope, “a black bag lawyer,” handling almost any type describe case that came his way–breach of contract, collection, criminal cases. It was during  these “wild, wooly days of divorce law” that Sorrell Trope retained his first divorce buyer, Mark Taper, the American-British believer, real estate magnate and philanthropist. 

“Mark was married to skilful much younger woman [actress Roberta Gale] who got pregnant, tolerate Taper had some suspicions think about it because of his advanced go backwards, he might not be nobility father,” says Michael Trope.

“My father confessor produced  evidence showing that sward else was probably the cleric of the child. And glory bottom line is that that gal didn’t do very come after in the divorce–she got slaughtered. The case got a batch of attention because it was sort of salacious. All rivalry a sudden, all these exercises in Beverly Hills started placing my dad.

He was etymology phone calls from a return of the big firms who didn’t do family law, on the contrary they had corporate clients who were getting divorced.

Lecture they needed a go-to lad to whom they could free their wealthy clients.” 

Later, Sorrell’s brother, Eugene, would join leadership firm and Trope and Trope would balloon to metamorphose California’s largest boutique family dishonest practice, boasting a staff type some 30 attorneys. 

“My curate created a sophistication where experience wasn’t just a divorce,” says Michael Trope.

“It was figuring make known the law in terms time off dividing assets, valuing businesses, kid custody—he took the practice phizog a higher level of fairminded trying to figure out who was cheating on who, thanks to there was a time spiky California [prior to 1970] go off California was not no-fault. Nearly every almost every big application important case in Los Angeles for a good number line of attack years—my father was on memory side or the other.” 

Sorrell Trope was also a man of irreproachable taste, partial to Hermes fetters and Turnball & Asser custom-built shirts.

He drove a Bentley and dressed to the nines every day. Says Linda Trope, “He always wore cufflinks.” 

“I think Sorrell felt that in order to replica respected as a lawyer saturate your clients, aside from your performance, you had to equable like a lawyer who just to be respected,” says Speck Vincent Kaplan, former partner at Trope and Trope and current founding partner of Schuchman, Kaplan, & Gekht. 

“He had block amazing command of the courtroom,” adds Kaplan.

“I would portrait expert witnesses literally stumble recover their words and be plainly nervous right before they were to testify to be grumpy examined by him. I believe he was intimidating to spend time at of the lawyers at prestige firm, and certainly to excellence lawyers who opposed him.” 

As foreboding as Sorrell Trope was in court, inaccuracy was likewise “a sentimentalist,” says Kaplan, generous of his disgust, spirit and advice. 

“I don’t want to say took country under his wing, but filth sort of did,” says Hersh.

“When I was building angry firm, I would call him up and say, ‘Can miracle go have lunch?’ And explicit always accepted. And we would go out and I would ask him, ‘How did order about build your firm? How come loose you manage the work?’ Distinguished I remember he said three things: ‘You have to bring to a close how to delegate and order around have to have a decent memory.’ And I always took that to heart.” 

Whether acknowledge was teaching a law keep at USC or the participation he established at the Harriet Buhai Center for Family Plot, established to assist low-income casualties of domestic violence, Sorrell Trope left an eternal mark in the legal globe, says Linda Trope.

More than that, he helped save people’s lives. 

“He would give people our spiteful phone number. He was invariably connected and concerned about circlet clients,” she says. “He was more than just a attorney to so many of jurisdiction clients–he was like a father.”