Davis Polk’s Former Paris Partner, Herbert Lobl, Passes Away

Herbert (Herb) Lobl died on September 14, 2025 in his home at The Osborn in Rye, New York. He was 93 years old and was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. For nearly 30 years, Herb was the Paris-based Partner in the New York law firm of Davis Polk, where he gained prominence as an advisor to U.S. and European companies on high profile transactions such as negotiating with the French government on the nationalization of ITT’s and Honeywell’s French operations.

Herb was born and grew up in Vienna, Austria until the age of 6, when his family first moved to France. In 1940, he and his parents emigrated to the U.S. and eventually settled in Holyoke, MA. Herb attended The Hotchkiss School and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was also a Fulbright scholar at the University of Bonn, Germany, and he served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Intelligence Service in Berlin from 1954 to 1956.

Herb joined David Polk after he graduated from law school in 1959, and he remained with the firm for his entire legal career except for a two-year stint from 1960 to 1962 as Assistant Counsel to then Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Upon his return to Davis Polk, Herb was assigned to the firm’s Paris office for an initial two-year rotation but then remained in the Paris office for nearly 30 years.

Upon his retirement from Davis Polk, Herb taught a seminar at Columbia Law School and then devoted much of his time to writing fiction. His three novels – Welcome to West Berlin, A Tender Offer, and A Reckoning in Berlin – were inspired by his experiences in Berlin and Paris. An honorary member of the Paris Bar, he served on a number of European and American corporate and charitable boards of directors.

Herb is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy (Dorie) Lobl of Rye, NY; his son Peter Lobl of Ardsley, NY; his daughter Michelle Lobl New of Rye, NY; and his four grandchildren, Samantha, Benjamin, Liam, and Danielle.

Interment will be held privately for the family on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, NY.