ALI life member Joel Eugene “Gene” Marans passed away on April 6. A member of the ALI for 35 years, Mr. Marans was devoted to the Institute’s mission of clarifying the law, having attended 29 Annual Meetings during his 35 year membership.
Mr. Marans was a partner in the international law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton from 1975 until his retirement in 2000. Based in the firm’s D.C. office, his practice focused on securities, financial, and regulatory matters, both nationally and internationally. He was involved in the representation of the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American Development Bank.
He was actively involved in pro bono activities, including leading in the successful effort to secure voting rights for Americans living abroad for which he was honored by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Marans graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 1965 and an undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard College in 1962. He served as a law clerk to Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1965-66). He was a member of the D.C., New York, American and International bar associations; the Washington Foreign Law Society (past president), and Union Internationale des Avocats. He was one of the editors of the Manual of Foreign Investment in the U.S., a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a founder of the Ripon Society.
He is survived by his daughter, Julia, his son, John, and his grandchildren, Jay and Landon.
Read Mr. Marans’ obituary.