Herbert (Herb) Lobl died on Sept. 14, 2025, in his home at The Osborn in Rye at age 93. He 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 American and European companies on high-profile transactions, such as negotiating with the French government on the nationalization of ITTs and Honeywell’s French operations.
Herb was born Vienna, Austria, where he lived until the age of six, when his family moved to France. In 1940, his family emigrated to the U.S. and eventually settled in Holyoke, Mass.
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 Davis 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 when he served as assistant counsel to then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Upon his return to Davis Polk, Herb was assigned to the firm’s Paris office. What was initially a two-year rotation became a 30-year chapter in his career.
Upon his retirement from Davis Polk, Herb taught a seminar at Columbia Law School and 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, Herb 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; his son Peter Lobl of Ardsley, N.Y.; his daughter Michelle Lobl New of Rye; and his four grandchildren, Samantha, Benjamin, Liam, and Danielle.
Interment will be held privately for the family on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye.
