Stanley Sporkin, Bane of Corporate Corruption, Dies at 88

Mr. Sporkin never wavered in his view that, as he put it, “capitalism is the greatest thing going, but unchecked, it’s its own undoing.” He argued that the S.E.C.’s vigorous check on the system was an example of government that works.

“I want to take the hypocrisy out of our society,” he told The Washington Post in 1977. “We’ve got to treat everybody equally, not kick the hell out of the little guy.”

Stanley Sporkin was born on Feb. 7, 1932, in Philadelphia, one of four children of Maurice and Ethel (Weiner) Sporkin.

He said he was drawn to the law early, inspired by visits as a child to City Hall, where his father, a former assistant district attorney, presided as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas.

He married Judy Imber, an artist, who survives him. In addition to her and their son Daniel, he is survived by their daughter, Elizabeth Sporkin; another son, Thomas; his sister, Barbara Meyers; and five grandchildren.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State University in 1953, Mr. Sporkin worked as an accountant until he could afford Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1957. His first job was with a law firm.

“I found that it was very disturbing when clients weren’t satisfied until they had one leg over the line between right and wrong,” he said in 1976. “We’d tell a client that something was wrong, and then he’d ask, ‘But is it illegal?’”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/business/stanley-sporkin-dead.html