Alan practiced personal injury law in New York City for four decades, retiring a few years ago. He co-founded the firm of Zalman & Schnurman and has received numerous professional honors, including the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York on behalf of the NYC Trial Lawyers Association. Alan was also the host of "Lawline," a PBS legal news show he started in 1983 and which still runs on Sunday in the New York metro area and on Monday on the East End. In 1999 Alan launched Lawline.com, the first website devoted to continuing legal education. It remains the market leader.
A native of East Flatbush, Brooklyn, Alan graduated from New York Law School, where he currently sits on the board of trustees and has endowed a scholarship for single mothers in memory of his own mother, Ruth. He has been married to his wife, Judy, for 40 years. They have a son, David, a daughter, Michele, and five grandchildren. Alan is active physically as well as professionally. He exercises every day, has run fifteen marathons and last October visited the base camp at Mount Everest. "I'm happiest when I'm working very hard," he explains.