Albert Socolov’s introduction to political activism was at age 15, speaking on New York City street corners to raise money for the loyalists during the Spanish Civil War. After college and four years in the army during World War II, during which he participated in the Normandy landings, Al entered NYU Law School, where he was a founding member of the NYU Student Division of the National Lawyers Guild. His early legal work included defending black clients in the south on behalf of the Civil Rights Congress, and participating in the political trials of the time, including both the First Smith Act and the Rosenberg Trials. During the Vietnam War, Al acted as legal observer at demonstrations and did draft counseling as a member of the Lawyers Guild Committee on Military Law. Al began working with ACT New York in 2004, and, most recently, recruited lawyers and phone banked on behalf of Andrea Stewart-Cousins in 2006. Al escapes to Florida during the winter, where he is a director of the Speakers Bureau of the Progressive Forum at Century Village.