I left Legal Aid in 1991, but my memories of Ed are indelible. I was assigned to AP-3 in Brooklyn when I started in 1984 along with Jesus Marrero. I was green, immature and fearless, so for me, Ed was the perfect supervisor; he always knew exactly how much rope to give me, so that I would learn some hard lessons about being a trial lawyer, but at the same time preventing me from totally screwing up. His Friday afternoon trial simulations were intense, and Ed would not hesitate to act like a drill sergeant to ensure that everyone put their best effort into the sessions. When I was on trial, I would not hesitate to call Ed at all hours of the night (my bad), and it always seemed that he would pick up on the first ring anticipating the call. He never (ever) took credit or even accepted recognition for the successes of those he supervised.
An anecdote: Early on, on a silly theft case, I convinced the ADA to agree to an ACD on the eve of a scheduled trial. When we appeared the next day before a judge named Koch to begin the trial, Koch, apparently insulted that he had no part in the movement of the case, refused to accept the ACD and instructed the court officer to call for a jury panel. Freaking out, I called Ed (on a pay phone, of course), who promptly headed over to 120 Schermerhorn to deal with the situation. Ed entered the courtroom with that classic stare and approached the bench and simply told Koch that he will be granting the motion for an ACD. Just like that, Judge Koch did not seem that scary anymore. With Ed standing in the back of the courtroom, I moved for an ACD, and there was not a peep from Koch.
I spent many evenings after work in Bayside with Margaret and Ed. They treated me like a son (Okay, kid brother), and I knew I had two people I could confide in, get solid advice from, and of course get a home-cooked meal from even if it was past midnight. Condolences to Jamie and Karen and their families. May your parents' memory be a blessing.