Godosky said Conason's friendly demeanor helped him in the courtroom with jurors and judges. But he said Conason readily admitted to also being driven by a fear of failure.
"Why was he so good?" Godosky said. "The best trial lawyers we knew were the most insecure. He always said that insecurity led him to work day and night."
Another friend, Henry Miller of Clark, Gagliardi & Miller in White Plains, said Conason never let his courtroom and monetary success go to his head.
"Bob did very well, very well," Miller said. "But he never loved money…he never let it corrupt him."
Conason was a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization comprised of 100 top plaintiff's trial lawyers in the country, as well as the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Lawyers.
Conason also served as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and was the only personal injury attorney named to the first Office of Court Administration advisory panel on civil practice.
Conason is survived by his wife, Leslie, their daughter Alexis, and two children from a previous marriage, Rick and Laurie.
His funeral will be Friday Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W. 76th St., Manhattan.
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