Author, Playwright, Actor
Senior Member, Clark, Gagliardi & Miller, P.C.
Henry G. Miller `59, a Senior Member of the New York law firm
Clark Gagliardi and Miller, P.C. has been trying cases for almost
five decades. As reported in the 2008 edition of The New
York Area’s Best Lawyers®, “Mr. Miller has the highest verdict
in New York State in a loss-of-nurture case for a one year old
child, whose mother was killed, plus many other multimillion-dollar
verdicts and settlements.” Clark Gagliardi and Miller, P.C.
consistently appears in this referral guide that is compiled based
upon peer nomination and peer vote.
Mr. Miller has lectured on all aspects of trial practice at law
schools such as; St. John’s Law, Harvard, Columbia and
Fordham. He authored, “On Trial: Lessons from a Lifetime in
the Courtroom” a primer for young and seasoned attorneys on the
various aspects of a trial. This book was based upon his
courtroom experience and his essays on trial practice that first
appeared in the New York Law Journal. His premise for this
book is simple, “we older lawyers know a lot. We had the best
teacher in the world: defeat.” Ironically, Mr. Miller lost
his first case – his Uncle George pressed him into service as
Defense Counsel on a minor traffic violation. The advice
tendered in the book will help litigators navigate around the
pitfalls at trial – and face the unavoidable with grace and
dignity.
Recently, Mr. Miller wrote the fictional novel “More” which is a
literary blend akin to “Bonfire of the Vanities” and “Wall Street”
where the main character is on a collision course with a fictional
corporate meltdown similar to that experienced by Enron. The
character’s conscience is played by his good friend, Joe Fidelio,
who graduated from St. John’s Law. It should be noted that
his girlfriend, Emmy, in the novel also attended alma
mater prior to working for the Environmental Defense
Fund. St. John’s Law generates good guys, even in works of
fiction.
Prior to writing “More,” Mr. Miller’s literary works have mostly
been written for the stage. He has authored four plays which
have been produced at the Greenwich Street Theatre in New York, the
Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut while another work was a
finalist at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. Most
recently he wrote and performed his one-man play, All Too Human
– an Evening with Clarence Darrow at the 45th Street Theatre
in New York. The New York Times proclaimed the work,
“(E)specially relevant.” Later next year, this play will go
into production at the Two River Theater in New Jersey.
Mr. Miller, a product of Brooklyn, was appointed by Governor
Mario Cuomo to Chair the Temporary State Commission on Local
Government Ethics. Later he was appointed by Governor George
Pataki to serve on the Committee to Review Audio-Video Coverage of
Court Proceedings. Mr. Miller is a former Director of the
International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the New York State Trial
Lawyers Association as well as a former Regent of the American
College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a Past-President of the
New York State Bar Association.
An excerpt from his book that he credits to Jeremiah Sage serves
as good advice to law students, trial attorneys and the population
in general, “Keep fit, be ethical, take vacations, have many
interests, laugh, do not take yourself too seriously, love your
work, be creative, face up to hard problems.” Specifically
for new graduates Mr. Miller counsels, “maintain a strong sense of
ethics. There is more to life than making money. And to quote
the Revolutionary War era minister, Reverend Cotton Mather ‘you
should never have to stoop to conquer.’”