Paul Sugarman, 2022-06-16

Paul Sugarman was born in Boston, MA in 1931 to Rebecca “Ruth” (née Chofnas, (b.1906 in Boston, MA) and Samuel H. Sugarman (b. 1903 in Boston, MA). Paul mostly grew up in Dorchester, MA, and lives in the Boston area to this day. In his oral history interview, Paul remembers living on Blue Hill Avenue surrounded by a strong Jewish community, represented in synagogues, Jewish storefronts, and, of course, “the Wall” at Franklin Field. He reflects on the economic situation of his families and more broadly of the neighborhood’s residents, as well as the pressures of assimilation and acculturation–and the impact this had on education for children growing up in the neighborhood. He went to Roxbury Memorial High School for Boys and attended Boston University for both his undergraduate degree and his Juris Doctorate degree. Upon graduating from Law school, he was immediately drafted into the Army, where he served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. In his interview, Paul discusses the difficulty many Jewish lawyers faced in finding a position, and the importance of Jewish-owned law firms, like that of Nat Fink, to those searching for a job. Paul joined Nat Fink’s law firm in 1958, now Sugarman & Sugarman. He has had a 60-year career focused in civil and appellate litigation.