Banner & Witcoff remembers our friend and partner Frank Wolffe, who died on February 3, 2016.
A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Wolffe graduated from the University of Maryland in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. Upon his graduation, Mr. Wolffe held a position as research engineer with the Sun Oil Company, following which he spent two years (1955-1957) in the United States Army assigned to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
He obtained a law degree from George Washington University School of Law in 1959. While attending GWU he served on the editorial staff of The George Washington University Law Review to which he contributed a number of articles. During this period he worked also as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1959 following receipt of his law degree. In 1967 he was admitted to the Virginia Bar. He was a founding partner of Fidelman, Wolffe in 1961 specializing in intellectual property law. In 1987 the firm was merged with Wegner & Bretschneider, which became Wegner, Cantor, Mueller & Player, and he remained there as Senior Attorney until 1994. It that year he joined Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., as a Senior Attorney, where he worked until his retirement.
Frank was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. District Court and Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Additionally he has served as a Special Master for Settlement in the U.S. District Court for Denver and as Expert Witness in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He also served as a Fact and Expert Witness in the Federal Court of Canada (Toronto).
From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Wolffe was a Member of the Board of the Paul Hill Chorale and served at its Vice President for two years. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s he was a Member of the Board of the Washington Speech and Hearing Society.
One of Frank’s passions was sailing and he enjoyed the sport at Deep Creek Lake, sailing with his friends and family members. He was a member of the Deep Creek Lake Sailing Association (Deep Creek Yacht Club at Turkey Neck) and in 1992, served as Commodore of the Club. While Commodore he helped establish the Deep Creek Sailing School which has been successful in teaching children and adults to sail. Frank also enjoyed bicycle riding, hiking, boating, swimming, cross-country skiing, traveling and most of all spending time with his children and grandchildren.
The firm offers its deepest sympathies to Frank’s family, especially to his daughter Susan Wolffe who is a partner with Banner & Witcoff.
A memorial service will be held February 27, 2016. For more information, please contact Chris Hummel.
Donations in Frank’s honor may be made to:
Deep Creek Sailing School
c/o Frank Meehan
1321 Pilgrim Rd
Spring Hill, FL 34606.
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
Attn: CONTRIBUTIONS
One Intrepid Square
W 46th Street & 12th Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Posted: February 12, 2016
