A lot of interesting, accomplished people from other places eventually choose to call Sarasota home. Among them: Ruth Kreindler and her husband Lee, a trailblazer in the field of aviation law.

“My husband wanted soft tennis courts and I wanted the beach for the kids. We visited Longboat Key and loved it," Ruth, 92, recalls. "We started by spending holidays here. We stayed at the Colony for a few days and sat looking right at the Gulf. Before I knew it, we bought a small unit there."

Ruth was an interior and architectural designer who, among many other projects, worked on the interiors of the Westchester County Airport—an interesting thread of connection to Lee's work in aviation law. 

Lee, who passed away in 2003, left an indelible mark on the legal landscape. As the founder of Kreindler & Kreindler, a firm he established with his father in 1950, he guided the families of victims of aviation accidents to justice, modernizing the field's legal framework in the process.

For his wife, Lee's legacy is the story of a partnership that spanned both their professional and personal lives—one she wanted to make sure was memorialized for the public. In June, she published The Fight for Justice: Lee Kreindler and Lockerbie, which she co-wrote with author Chris Angermann. The book is an account of Lee’s legal battles in the aftermath of the bombing of ​​Pam Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988—the most significant air disaster case of the 20th century. The bombing killed more than 270 people from 21 countries, including 190 Americans. 

"Lee cared about the clients, and his big problem was how to keep [the Lockerbie case] out of his heart and mind," Ruth recalls. "He had to stick to the facts and find the answers to the puzzle—like how the bomb got on the plane. He didn’t just want to win cases; he wanted to make a difference. To Lee, it was never just about the law—it was about the people he was fighting for.”

As the lead attorney for the Lockerbie victims' families, Lee's work resulted in the largest financial recovery for a single disaster in aviation history: nearly $3 billion from lawsuits against Pan Am Airlines and the country of Libya.

“The Lockerbie case was a turning point in Lee’s career,” Ruth says. "His work on that case is what people remember him for most, but to me, he was always more than just the man who won that case. He was my support.”

And she was his—especially as the Lockerbie case consumed both their lives.

"It was all-encompassing," Ruth recalls. "Many of the clients were wives because back then, women weren’t as prevalent in executive roles. They would call at all hours—morning, noon, and night—worried about how they’d pay rent or send their children to school. It was constant—24 hours a day because of the time difference. If Lee was on one phone, I’d be on the other." Always a good listener, she could relate to the mothers and wives on the other end of the line. "Sometimes they just needed to talk," she says.

Lee’s work on the Lockerbie case helped establish a precedent for suing state sponsors of terrorism. That case's three-phase settlement in 2003 marked a historic moment for the victims’ families and the legal community.

But while he may be best remembered for Lockerbie, Lee also advocated for safety reforms within the aviation industry. In the 1960s, he voiced concerns about the safety of helicopter travel in New York City, specifically the heliport atop the city's Pan Am building. His warnings were validated when, in 1977, a helicopter accident caused multiple fatalities on the building’s roof.

"He wasn’t just a lawyer,” Ruth says. “He was a visionary. When he became a lawyer, he had no cases. There was no aviation law. People thought a plane accident was an act of God."

That all changed when a woman involved in a plane accident in Newark, New Jersey, landed in a tree and survived. She went to law firm after law firm seeking compensation for her hospitalization due to the accident, but every single firm refused. 

"She found Lee in his little office at the time. He had no other cases, so he took hers," Ruth says. "He won the case and a very large award for her. After that, only aviation cases came to him." 

In 1963, Lee wrote Aviation Accident Law, a three-volume treatise that would become the go-to resource for aviation attorneys. He helped establish critical legal precedents that would impact countless families of accident victims in the years to come. His work also led to major legislative changes, including amendments to the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) after the 1996 TWA Flight 800 disaster. In that case, Lee was one of the first to point to mechanical failure—not terrorism—as the likely cause of the crash. 

In the aftermath of 9/11, Kreindler & Kreindler, where his son James is also a partner, was among the first to file a liability lawsuit on behalf of victims’ families, helping them recover more than $4 billion in wrongful death, illness and injury compensation.

“Lee always said his work was about giving people who had lost everything a voice,” Ruth explains. “He didn’t just fight for settlements. He fought for recognition of the families’ suffering and for lasting change in the system.”

For her, the most enduring memory of her late husband is the partnership they shared.  

“People saw Lee as a fierce advocate," she says. "But what they didn’t see was the quiet, steady support he gave me and everyone around him. He never let the fame or the big cases change who he was."

With The Fight for Justice: Lee Kreindler and Lockerbie, Ruth wanted to honor her husband's memory and his work, as well as her own involvement in it, which included documenting their journey through scrapbooks and notes. It's an intimate portrait of their life together, with an emphasis on strong partnerships.

“This book is a tribute to Lee's legacy, yes,” she says, “but it’s also a reminder of how much stronger people can be with the right person behind them.”