After law school, Bittker clerked for Judge Jerome Frank of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
From 1942 to 1943 Bittker worked as an attorney for the Lend-Lease Administration in Washington, D.C. On May 24, 1943, he joined the United States Army.
[1] During the next two years Bittker fought and was wounded in World War II, receiving a Purple Heart.
Bittker defended the spirit of Forman's appeal, but argued that a reparations lawsuit for school segregation had a stronger legal basis.
Bittker was also a dedicated environmentalist, serving as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council.