William Van Rensselaer Erving was a partner the firm from 1925 to 1940. Erving was born in 1871 in New York City, a descendant of the Van Rensselaer patroons. He was educated at private schools in New York City after which he received his law degree from Albany Law School. He relocated to Albany and became involved in Republican politics led by the Barnes machine. In 1920, he ran for Albany mayor in a highly contentious race and lost to the Democrat William S. Hackett. This ushered in Democratic Corning/O’Connell organization which controlled Albany politics for the rest of the twentieth century.
Erving became a partner of the firm in 1925 and the firm became known as Cooper Erving & Savage and remains so to the present. His expertise was in corporate and trusts and estate law, and was known to be a strong advocate for his clients. For 35 years Erving was a trustee and secretary of Albany Savings Bank, a major firm client. He managed the William P. Van Rensselaer Estate Corporation, which was organized to handle the Van Rensselaer family holdings. His principal hobby was navigation, and he was an avid member of the New York Navigation Institute.
Erving died in 1940 at age 68.
