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Alan P. Solow is an American lawyer, Jewish leader and philanthropist. He is a partner at DLA Piper's bankruptcy group based in Chicago, and a Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He is also a veteran supporter and a longtime friend of the United States President Barack Obama.^[1]

Biography

Solow graduated summa cum laude from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1976, and received J.D. degree (also cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1979. Before coming to DLA Piper in 2009, he worked at Goldberg Kohn commercial law firm for 25 years.^[2]

He was elected a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and is included in The Best Lawyers in America.^[3] He is a member of Aitz Hayim Center for Jewish Living located in Highland Park, Illinois. He is married and has three children.

Support of President Obama and criticism of the Obama administration

Solow was one of the earliest supporters and financial backers of President Barack Obama, since his 1994 campaign for the Illinois State Senate, including an interview to The Forward praising Obama's abilities. At the time, Solow resided in Obama's South Side of Chicago district. This support continued with the Senate campaign and played an important role in the Presidential campaign, helping gather Jewish support for the candidate. He was also one of the bundlers (major financial backers) of the Obama campaign,^[4] having contributed over half a million dollars.^[5]

Solow is credited with calling Barack Obama "the first Jewish president".^[6] In 2008, he was quoted: "I said with a smile that he will be the first Jewish president. He also has a deep understanding of issues that confront Israel and the Jewish community."^[7] He also traveled with Obama to Israel in a highly publicized visit in 2007.^[8]

It is widely speculated that the friendship with the president helped Solow become the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, a suggestion rejected by Solow.^[9] Later, Solow criticized the Obama administration for its stand on the Israeli settlements issue.^[10] He also criticized Obama anti-semitism envoy Hannah Rosenthal for remarks which "could threaten to limit her effectiveness in the area for which she is actually responsible".^[11]

Notes

References

• Alan Solow joins DLA Piper in Chicago as Vice Chair of the US Restructuring Group, DLA Piper's press release.
• Resonant falsehoods, Jerusalem Post, 1 Mar, 2008.
• Meet Obama's bundlers, Chicago Business, 23 August, 2008.
• Obama backer anticipates speech, Rocky Mountain News, 27 August, 2008.
• Top Obama Aides Dispached to Florida, Ohio, The Forward, 13 October, 2008.
• Key Obama backer, confidante Alan Solow tipped to head U.S. Jewry's top body, Haaretz, 22 December, 2008.
• DLA Piper to appoint Alan Solow vice chairman of its U.S. restructuring group, Chicago Tribune, 14 April, 2009.
• Obama’s Jewish Backers May Be in the Middle as U.S.-Israel Tensions Rise, The Forward, 22 May, 2009.
• National Jewish Leader Turns against Obama, American Thinker, 24 July , 2009.
• Envoy-on-envoy criticism over Jewish group, Politico, December 24, 2009.

External links

• Alan Solow, a profile on the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations website.
• Partner Alan P. Solow, a profile on the DLA Piper's website.