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2 Student Law. J. 5 (1956-1957)
The Importance of Lawyers

handle is hein.journals/studljer2 and id is 9 raw text is: The Importance of Lawyers By DAVID F. MAXWELL President, American Bar Association T seems but yesterday when I was looking forward to my ad- mission to the bar, even as you are now. In my law school clays few students had ever heard of the American Bar Association and the American Law Student Associa- tion was not in existence. The tremendous growth of the ALSA testifies to the growing in- terest American law students are taking in the work of the organ- izecd bar. It is truly amazing that you have made such progress in so few years and I attribute the suc- cess of your association in no small measure to the inspiration and genius of Jim Spiro and to the en- thusiasm and ability of the stu- dent leaders with whom he has worked. I am sure you have not chosen to enter the profession of the law solely to earn a living. If you have you will be sadly disappointed be- cause other fields of human en- deavor are much more lucrative. Therefore, it is reasonable to con- clude that you were prompted in your decision by a much loftier and more worthy motive - the cause of public service to which every lawyer is expected and does devote a substantial part of his One of the highlights of the An- nual Meeting of the American Law Student Association in Dallas vas the address of the new President of the American Bar Association, David F. Maxwell of Philadelphia. His observa- tions about the status of lawyers in Russia, where he visited last summer, and about the role of lawyers in our society will, eve believe, be of interest to every lawv student. Hence we are publishing herewith the full text of President Maxw'ell's talk. time. It takes him far beyond the boundaries of the law into corn- munity and welfare activities of many varieties. It is the lawyer who generally spear-heads the community fund drive, the every- member church canvass, the local hospital building campaigns or any one of a myriad of other charitable enterprises. It is also the lawyer to whom the community looks for help and guidance in deciding the great political issues of the day. More frequently than not, it is the law- yer who is sent to our legislative halls to represent his fellow citi- zens. This is as it should be because the lawyer in my opinion is the best bulwark against communism. It is he who can penetrate the honeyed phrases and unctuous promises of the communists to their true intent. He is best equipped by training and experi- ence to unmask the outward show of the Soviet organization and re- veal the true nature of the police state. That is why the presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party has no time for lawyers. If I may be excused for being personal, I should like to tell you of my experience in observing the judicial system in the Soviet Re- publics on a trip behind the Iron Curtain in July. There I saw and was told what Stalin and his suc- cessors did to the lawyers. There the lawyers are in a very sorry state indeed, which is not surpris- ing, because the primary function of a lawyer is to see that justice is about the author . . . DAVID F. MAXWELL, of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, became the 80th President of the American Bar Associa- tion on August 31, 1956. He has long been active in the national affairs of thy legal profession as well as in the pro- fessional and business life of his home city and state. An active member of the American Bar Association for more than 25 years, he was chairman of the Association's policy-making body, the House of Dele- gates, from 1952 to 1954. He served as State Delegate from Pennsylvania to the ABA from 1944 to 1952 and was chairman of the Association's Unau- thorized Practice of Law Committee from 1943 to 1946. During the past year he served as a member of the Editorial Board of the American Bar Association Journal, a director of the American Judicature Society, and a member of the National Conference of Lawyers and of the Trust Division of the American Bankers Association. Mr. Maxwell's civic activities match his service to the Bar. A practicing at- torney in his home state and city for over 30 years, he served as a member of the Task Force on Legal Services and Procedure of the Hoover Commis- sion on the Organization of the Execu- tive Branch of the Government. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and has served as a member of the execu- tive committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Max- evell received his B.S. and LL.B. de- grees from the University of Pennsyl- vania. 5 OCTOBER, 1956

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