Loeb began his career in 1923 with the law firm of Cook, Nathan, & Lehman. He was partner from 1927 to 1947, until becoming a partner at the firm of
Lord Day & Lord from 1948 to 1972. While at Lord Day, Loeb's most prominent client was the
New York Times Company, which he represented as general counsel from 1948 to 1967. Most famously, Loeb successfully represented the
Times in the 1964 case
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan before the
United States Supreme Court. The court's ruling held that news publications could not be sued for
libel by public figures unless the plaintiffs were able to establish
actual malice in the false reporting of a news story. The case, which had been brought against the
Times by
Montgomery, Alabama public safety commissioner L.B. Sullivan, allowed newspapers to report on the widespread chaos and police abuse accompanying the
civil rights movement. Loeb later called the libel cases he argued for
The New York Times "the heaviest responsibility I've ever had since I began practicing law." In addition to private practice, Loeb held many civic posts. He served as president of the
New York City Bar Association from 1956 to 1958. In 1970, he presided over the Bar's Committee on Congressional Ethics, which recommended that legislators divest themselves of holdings in companies relevant to legislation they were drafting. He was also on the
New York City Board of Health, and was life governor of the Society for New York Hospitals. He and his wife, Janet Cook Loeb, made financial contributions to the expansion of Scripps Hospital in
La Jolla, California, and bequeathed one million dollars to the San Diego Zoological Society. Loeb was a longtime member of the
Yale Club and
Century Club in New York City and San Diego. ==Death==