East Meadow lawyer dies at 84

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Irving Serota, a lawyer from East Meadow, died on March 2 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He would be 85 on March 30. 

Irving Serota had dreamt of starting his own law practice, his wife Enid said, and, on opening it, he viewed each client as a dear friend. “He would stay on the phone with [his clients] for hours and not charge them,” she said. “He was always looking out for their best interest.”

Serota died on March 2 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 84. 


Serota grew up in Crown Heights and attended Brooklyn College, where he met his wife Enid in English class. He graduated in 1955 and went on to attend New York University School of Law until 1957, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Serota’s military career began at Fort Benning in Georgia, followed by Fort Dix in New Jersey. He and his wife then moved to Bad Nauheim, Germany, where he served as a battalion mail clerk and chief clerk for the Special Courts and Boards. In Germany, Serota served in the same army division as Elvis Presley.

On moving back to the United States, Serota continued his education at NYU and graduated in 1960. “It was a very eventful time,” Enid said, recalling the birth of their first child Jack and the start of Serota’s law career, which had him moving across different firms.

The couple eventually moved to East Meadow and, in 1982, he opened his own law practice in the community and dedicated his career to helping his clients.

Enid recalled one case in which a couple had filed for divorce, but both parties wanted him to represent them. After ensuring the couple approved, he worked with each of them and he and Enid ended up growing close enough to attend their individual weddings when they remarried.

Serota was a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis and he and his wife were congregants at the East Meadow Jewish Center. According to Enid, her husband was a Dodger and Mets baseball fan, a big history buff and very interested in politics.

Serota is survived by his brother Harvey Serota, of Westbury, sister Janet Malamutt of Massapequa; his sons Jack, 57, of Great Neck, Howard, 54, of Lynwood, Pa., and two grandchildren.

He was buried at Wellwood Cemetery in Babylon after a service on March 4.