MAYER, LEVY

MAYER, LEVY (1858–1922), U.S. attorney. Mayer was born in Richmond, Virginia, and was brought up in Chicago. He graduated from Yale Law School, and in 1876 he became assistant librarian of the Chicago Law Institute, a position he held for six years. During this period he edited and revised the works of Judge David Rorer on interstate law, published as American Interstate Law (1879). Mayer became associated with the law firm Kraus, Mayer, and Stein, which he ultimately headed when it became Mayer, Meyer, Austrian and Platt. His major interest was corporation law, and he became one of the leading corporation lawyers in the country. He was a founder of many U.S. and international corporations and was identified with some celebrated law cases. Mayer served as a member of the State Council of Defense of Illinois during World War I. He was a member of the American Economic Association and the American Academy of Political Science. He was associated with the Zion Temple in Chicago and was secretary of the Zion Literary Society. (Morris A. Gutstein)