Bernard Botein came from humble beginnings to hold one of the most prominent judicial positions in New York State—presiding justice of the Manhattan-based Appellate Division, First Department.

And in his sharp ascension through the legal profession, Botein apparently never forgot his roots.

Born in 1900 in the then-poverty stricken Lower East Side of Manhattan, Botein's mother was widowed when he was 6 years old, and the young Botein began working early—he had a paper route, delivered flowers, worked in the New York Sun's morgue, to name a few of his early professions.