“It’s important to let people know that they’re respected and that you value them,” says John D. Feerick, who is a professor and was the Dean of the Fordham University School of Law for 20 years (1982-2002). Mr. Feerick is also the founder and director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham University, which the University established in 2006 to develop solutions to the problems that result from urban poverty.
The Feerick Center develops academic courses related to social justice and poverty reform, and aims to train law students and fellows to work for social justice. The Center has initiated several programs, including volunteer programs that offer legal advice to homeless individuals, those at risk of becoming homeless, and those who are unrepresented in consumer debt cases. The Feerick Center is committed to “meeting the wants of the age,” just as Cornelia Connelly, the Society’s Foundress directed. For example, as the Center recruited attorneys for the law school’s pro bono programs, they found that many retired attorneys had let their licenses expire or no longer carried malpractice insurance, meaning they were unable to practice law, even in a pro bono capacity. The Feerick Center worked with the judiciary and today, the New York State Court System recognizes a new “emeritus” category for attorneys, which allows retired attorneys to volunteer their services by bypassing some of the usual requirements.
Mr. Feerick has also served the Catholic Church in numerous, quiet ways. A colleague shares that Mr. Feerick “spends his life doing good and has an unbelievable ability to bring people together.” Mr. Feerick, who believes that mediation is another form of problem solving, recently facilitated a national dialogue between Catholic hospitals and workers that aimed to “explore and develop constructive alternatives for situations in which workers were seeking union representation.” Last summer, he helped to establish the Marian Conflict Resolution Center at the Catholic University of Ghana at Sunyani. Mr. Feerick also chaired the committee that produced the 1994 Model Standards for Mediators of Disputes.
Mr. Feerick has served as President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, which has 23,000 members; Chair of the New York State Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections, which recommended and helped secure the adoption of a statewide system of judicial qualification commissions; and Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Feerick is also a United States Army Veteran.
Mr. Feerick and his wife, Emalie, have six children and 11 grandchildren. Two of their daughters, Margaret (in 1985) and Rosemary (in 1988), graduated from School of the Holy Child in Rye, NY. Mr. Feerick was an active and involved trustee on Holy Child’s Board for 10 years and is remembered as an outstanding Chair of the Development Committee. His wisdom and counsel were invaluable, especially in identifying new members for the Board and in supporting the School’s mission of providing scholarships for those most in need. Mr. Feerick remains a loyal friend and advocate of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.
“It’s important to let people know that they’re respected and that you value them,” says John D. Feerick, who is a professor and was the Dean of the Fordham University School of Law for 20 years (1982-2002). Mr. Feerick is also the founder and director of the 
