 After serving in World War II, he graduated "magna cum laude" from Harvard Law School in 1949, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.Early in his career, he worked for Cravath, Swaine & Moore and served as special assistant attorney general to the New York State Crime Commission.In 1954, he co-founded the New York City firm Olwine, Connelly, Chase, O'Donnell & Weyher.