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23 B. Leader 14 (1998-1999)
An Interview with ABA President Philip S. Anderson

handle is hein.journals/barlead23 and id is 60 raw text is: BAR LEADERSHIP An interview with ABA President Philip S. Anderson Philip S. Anderson became the 122nd president of the American Bar Association in August at the conclu- sion of the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto. He is a partner in the law firm of Williams & Anderson in Little Rock, Ark. Anderson is past chair of the ABA House of Delegates and served as a member of the Board of Governors for two terms. For three years until 1997, he chaired the ABA Coalition for Jus- tice, which is attempting to strengthen public confidence in the U.S. justice system. The coalition oversees the Jus- tice Initiatives program, which encour- ages lawyers and judges to involve the community in improving state and lo- cal justice systems. He is past chair of the Section of Legal Education and Ad- mission to the Bar. By presidential appointment in 1978 and 1979, Anderson served on the U.S. Circuit Court Judge Nominating Com- mission Panel for the Eighth Circuit. He was a member of the Federal Advi- sory Committee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1983 to 1988. He is a member of the Council of the American Law Institute, and a fellow and past chair of the Arkansas Bar Foundation. He belongs to the American Judicature Society and the American Counsel Association. His service on the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on (civil) Jury Instructions for 35 years earned him a Special Award for Meritorious Service from the Arkansas Bar Assocaition in 1966. Anderson received his B.A. and law degrees from the University of Arkansas, and served as editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review. His community service includes serving as trustee of the Southwestern Legal Foundation; trustee and past president of the Central Arkansas Li- brary System; and past president of Lit- tle Rock Unlimited Progress, Inc., and Friends of the Little Rock Public Li- brary. He is a former member of the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Parish. Last fall, Anderson discussed his goals as ABA president-and particu- larly his focus on the independence of the judiciary and the need to enhance public confidence in the legal profes- sion-with Cleaveland D. Miller of Baltimore, now immediate past chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services. Miller: Phil, I wanted to start the interview with some questions that are of a personal nature so that we might give our readers some idea of who Phil Anderson is, in addition to being an outstanding lawyer and bar leader. Tell me what motivated you to become a lawyer. Was this some- thing that you were interested in as a young person or did your interest de- velop later? Anderson: My interest in being a lawyer began at a pretty early age. I have always been interested in political science and civics and it always seemed to me that lawyers have had a very important role to play in our soci- ety. We are a country that is devoted to the rule of law. My interest in law did develop at an early time. Miller: Was your father or any- one in your family a lawyer? I know that my mother encouraged me to be a lawyer and my uncle was a lawyer. That was an influence on me. Anderson: No, my father was not a lawyer but he encouraged me to go to law school when he saw how strong my interest was in being a lawyer. Miller: I know your father-in-law, Edward Wright, served as a presi- dent of the ABA (1970-1971) and 14/Ainter 1999 Bar Leader

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