William Kimberly Polignani, Remembered

By Jonathan A. Polignani

William Kimberly Polignani, trial attorney and father, passed away at the age of 78 from natural causes. Kim was predeceased by his mother, Gloria by 6 years, father, Francis by 25 years, and brother Kevin by 20 years. He is survived by his two sons, Michael and Jonathan, his brother Thomas, sister Susan, nephew Cliff, former wife Karen, and many friends.

Kim grew up in Garden City, NY and graduated high school with the class of 1964 before attending Villanova University where he studied Political Science and was a member of the Naval ROTC - this pursuit was inspired by his older cousin, Steve who joined the Marines and studied law. Kim was discharged from the ROTC due to orthopedic injuries and subsequently avoided duty in the Vietnam War. Instead, Kim attended New York Law School and paid for tuition by driving a taxi cab part-time in New York City. Kim was present at Villanova when the University transitioned from full-time male (with blazers in the dress code) to fully co-ed enrollment and lived down the hall from the famous folk musician, Jim Croce, singer of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” He was emboldened by the socio-political atmosphere during the 1960’s and supported social activism - at the time, centered around racial civil rights and equality - being sure to attend the campus MLK rally and rooted for the successes of athlete-activist-poet-scholar, Muhammad Ali.

Early in his law career, Kim worked as a legal research assistant to US Attorney William M. Tendy and then as a law clerk for Hon. Richard H. Levet in the Federal courts in Southern District of New York. After admission to the Bar in 1973, he went into private solo practice for 51 years. After approximately 20 years into his career, Kim was awarded the highest available peer rating of “AV 5/5 Preeminent” by the attorney rating service, Martindale-Hubble. The rating stood for over thirty years until his death. While only 2% of attorneys are bestowed this rating, it is exceptionally uncommon for a solo-practitioner to achieve such a distinction without affiliation with a larger firm.

Kim practiced marital, real estate, civil, and criminal defense and other trial law, taking criminal defense cases simply to “keep the system honest for the sake of the one innocent person that goes through.” Several of his cases made the news throughout his career.

After raising his nephews in the 1980’s Kim moved to Long Beach, NY and lived at the beach, fished for striped bass, married, raised his sons Michael and Jonathan, attended Church, and - as an avid reader - mourned the catastrophic shortening of the Saturday New York Times print edition from 8 columns to 6. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy destroyed the beach community and displaced the family. As a result, and after enduring a brief stint living with his mother while his children were in college, he relocated the family to Water Mill, NY in the Hamptons where he continued to live at the beach, fish, engage with the parish, and practice law until his death.

Kim had unmatched, broad-ranging encyclopedic knowledge that came partly from a lifetime of diverse activities but most prominently from reading everything available. Frankly, his knowledge base extended beyond available literature and it was never clear to others how he knew or retained such information (today, it is easy to web search everything, but this internet advantage was not available until a few decades ago, so it was always unclear how he was so knowledgeable). Despite never having an academic career, Kim had critical insight into political, socio-political, and legal situations that he brought into everyday conversation.

Kim partook in various sports throughout his life: football while in high school, skiing, hiking, tennis and golf later on - but was also a patron of all things-with-character including art exhibits, car shows, mansion yard sales in the Hamptons, political conventions, and glass-carafe-paper-filtered coffee. He was also a spectacular home cook and his cooking repertoire shouldn’t be shadowed by anything else.

In the 1990’s, due to his lifelong commitment to learning, he enrolled in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception on Long Island and attained another graduate degree, this time in Theology. This allowed him to serve as a medical ethicist at the community hospital in Long Beach and also to comment on religious conundrums, in addition to legal and political issues.

Although a stern parent, Kim was very engaged and always supportive of his children. He energetically encouraged them to pursue their interests and drove them to school, sports - and everywhere else - even into his 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. He considered his obligation to expose his kids to as much culture as he could, and did not pressure them into any particular field of work or study, other than suggesting that they receive some semblance of a liberal arts education in order “to help develop the ability to read, write, and think critically, so not to be some bump on a log,” and also that they “must read everything.”

Kim always said he would never retire and that, God willing, he would work until the end. This commitment was fulfilled because at the time of his death at 78 years old, Kim had many active cases and a trial scheduled in the Suffolk County Court. This was a fitting end to his 53+ career in law, since his pen-holder on his desk was a coffee mug bearing the jestful inscription, “Old lawyers never die, they just lose their appeal.”

Kim is irreplaceable in many people’s lives and his virtue was to encourage his loved ones to seek the opportunities that would better their lives, and to help them pursue those opportunities successfully. Kim was loving, gracious, caring, compassionate, and he treated everyone equally; Kim will be missed by many.

Memorial services will be held on Friday November 8, 2024, 11:00 am at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Bridgehampton, NY followed by a buffet reception at Dopo il Ponte, Bridgehampton, NY. All those who knew Kim are invited to join in remembering him.