Chicago attorney Charles Pressman was "an indefatigable champion of the little guy," colleagues said.

"He was a credit to the bar," said Abner Mikva, a former classmate of Pressman's at the University of Chicago's law school who later became a U.S. congressman, federal judge and chief counsel to President Bill Clinton.

"My earliest recollection of Charlie is of a bright, young law student who got excited every time our class discussion veered off towards civil rights, civil liberties or the (U.S.) Constitution," Mikva said. "He was an excellent debater, never wishy-washy, who held his ground and let his passions be known from the start."

Pressman, 92, died of heart failure Oct. 2 at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital. A resident of Lake Forest Place retirement community for the past 3 1/2 years, Pressman had previously lived in Highland Park and Wilmette.

After graduating from law school in 1951, Pressman co-founded Pressman & Hartunian, a Chicago law firm that specialized in consumer fraud, employment discrimination and civil rights violations cases. During the 1950s and '60s, Pressman also was a director of the Chicago chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Charlie was, without question, one of Chicago's leading attorneys in cases involving civil rights and civil liberties," Mikva said. "He sought justice on every level."

In the weeks following the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pressman represented Roy L. Ries, a student at McCormick Theological Seminary who was allegedly struck by a police officer and suffered a skull fracture and other injuries during a protest in Lincoln Park.

According to a 1968 Tribune story, the suit was filed against the city of Chicago, several government officials and a Chicago police officer. Ultimately unsuccessful, the action contended "the alleged attack happened even though Ries was dressed in clerical garb with an arm band identifying him as a cleric and had given advance notice that he and others were going to the park to seek to avoid clashes between police and demonstrators."

Pressman's firm also handled several high-profile class-action suits, including Zipes v. TWA, in which flight attendants alleged the airline practiced unlawful sexual discrimination by grounding all female flight attendants who became mothers, while male counterparts who became fathers continued to fly.

"Charlie was extremely smart and sharp in formulating strategy," said retired Chicago attorney Ron Futterman, who during the 1970s came on board as an associate at Pressman & Hartunian. "He was a wonderful colleague, but he could also be a stern critic, which only made me a better lawyer."

In 1982, Pressman left the firm. He continued to work on cases until several years ago, when his health began to fail, family members said.

"Anybody who knew Charlie knew how he stood on the issues," said his wife, Joan, whom he married after his wife of 34 years, Lenore, died in 1986. "He was a Democrat and an outspoken liberal who dealt only in facts."

Born in New York City, Pressman was raised in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he was president of his high school senior class. He attended a private college on the East Coast for two years before enlisting in the military to decipher enemy codes during World War II.

Upon his discharge, Pressman attended the University of Chicago on the GI Bill, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy before graduating from its law school.

"I thought he was a great guy," said Lee Vickman, a longtime friend and retired Chicago attorney. "He was a kind, compassionate man, interested in social justice and wanting to right some of the wrongs of the world."

Other survivors include a son, Michael; a daughter, Sarah Lovinger; a stepson, Steve Weinger; two stepdaughters, Lauren Weinger and Nancy Weinger; a sister, Helen Rausch; a granddaughter; and three step-grandchildren.

Services have been held.