Yuval H. Marcus has spent much of his life looking at the world through one eye ”“ the one trained on the viewfinder of his camera.
He has chronicled everything from riders on the New York City subways and Bob Dole campaigning on the Yale University campus to California streetscapes and a child watering a mother”™s feet on a Long Island Sound beach to Yitzhak Shamir and other political dignitaries at the Knesset in West Jerusalem.
But the life of a photographer was not meant to be.
Marcus grew up in New Rochelle and commuted to The Ramaz School on East 78th Street between Park and Madison avenues via bus and subway. The ride to the high school afforded Marcus a feeling of independence and the chance to work on his hobby of photography, which he began when he was in the seventh grade at Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck. He was the photo editor of The Rampage, which derived its name in part from Ramaz. He also was the executive editor of the yearbook.
The work prepared him well for when he attended Yale University and became photo editor of the Yale Daily News, the oldest U.S. college daily newspaper. If a person of note, such as Dole on his presidential campaign stop, visited the campus and the news wires were interested in a photo, Marcus would get the shot and receive payment for it. It was back then that he began to get interested in the concept of intellectual property and copyright law.
At Yale, photography was part of his mix of English and medieval European history studies. His senior thesis was on the church-state conflict of Pope Boniface VIII and France”™s King Philip IV. Photography offered Marcus untold enjoyment until he took a photo course at Yale. As part of the course, he had to shoot six rolls of film per week. He came to hate his longtime passion. “It”™s one of the reasons I became a lawyer.”
After Yale, he was unsure whether to pursue photography full time or law. He decided to try both. He spent the summers of 1990 and 1991 in the press office of the Israeli prime minister. His primary job was to chronicle the activities of then Israeli leader Yitzhak Shamir. It was a busy and scary time to be in the Middle East ”“ Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and also chose to aim Scud missiles at targets in Israel. As dignitaries visited, Marcus would photograph them with his work often appearing on the front pages of various newspapers. His portfolio was impressive. He found the assignments to be great experience. Yet, law was still tugging at his sleeve. Back in the United States, he worked as a paralegal at the law firm of Baker and McKenzie in New York City.
“When the lawyers got together to strategize, it stimulated me intellectually.”
He approached his roommate about his dilemma over which career path to take.
His roommate offered: “If you love being a paralegal, you”™ll love being a lawyer.”
That was it; he signed up at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan and earned a law degree in 1994. A year later he married and was an associate with Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld in Manhattan. Along the way he worked at other firms handling securities fraud cases and other litigation, striving to handle intellectual property cases, the issue he was attracted to in college. In 2004, Marcus joined Gottlieb, Rackman and Reisman P.C. of New York City as an associate attorney. He specializes in intellectual property cases such as trademark, trade dress, patent and copyright.
Since he and other members of the firm live in Westchester, he suggested opening an office in White Plains, not just for convenience”™ sake but to handle cases by clients based in the county. The firm handles intellectual property issues pro bono for The Business Council of Westchester.
And while he is no longer shooting beach scenes or politicians, Marcus”™ main three subjects are his children. He is also the person people turn to at gatherings as “the guy who brings the camera.”
Having gone digital, his life is no longer beholden to film and its limited exposures. “It”™s as big as your memory card.”
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