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Story
April 14, 1955
The Prison Mirror
Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota
What is this article about?
Erle Stanley Gardner discusses the decline and resurgence of lawyers' respect in society, blaming poor public relations for failing to highlight their community contributions beyond partisan roles, including unpaid committee work on legislation and legal aid for the poor.
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Full Text
RESURGENCE
Excerpts from an article written for Argosy magazine's Court of Last Resort by ERLE STANLEY GARDNER
Fifty years ago . . . lawyers were the intellectual leaders in the community. . . . respected individually and collectively. Gradually people began to turn away from the leadership of lawyers, and when they did that the people made a big mistake. . . . They're beginning now to drift back into a better understanding of the situation. The whole thing has been largely the fault of the lawyers because they fell down in the job of public relations. They didn't let the people know what they were doing. An individual lawyer is a partisan champion. That's what he's for. He takes one side of the case and tries to present that side of the case to the court. Naturally he antagonizes the people on the other side of the case. He can't help that. But this individual activity of the lawyer is only one small part of what he's doing for the community. Very few people know anything about the group activities of lawyers. Right now, while you're reading this, committees . . . appointed by bar associations are working without compensation, checking proposed legislation, trying to organize things so that legal aid societies can give penniless people the legal aid that they need, trying to fix things so that Justice isn't just for the rich.
Excerpts from an article written for Argosy magazine's Court of Last Resort by ERLE STANLEY GARDNER
Fifty years ago . . . lawyers were the intellectual leaders in the community. . . . respected individually and collectively. Gradually people began to turn away from the leadership of lawyers, and when they did that the people made a big mistake. . . . They're beginning now to drift back into a better understanding of the situation. The whole thing has been largely the fault of the lawyers because they fell down in the job of public relations. They didn't let the people know what they were doing. An individual lawyer is a partisan champion. That's what he's for. He takes one side of the case and tries to present that side of the case to the court. Naturally he antagonizes the people on the other side of the case. He can't help that. But this individual activity of the lawyer is only one small part of what he's doing for the community. Very few people know anything about the group activities of lawyers. Right now, while you're reading this, committees . . . appointed by bar associations are working without compensation, checking proposed legislation, trying to organize things so that legal aid societies can give penniless people the legal aid that they need, trying to fix things so that Justice isn't just for the rich.
What sub-type of article is it?
Legal Commentary
Societal Reflection
What themes does it cover?
Justice
Social Manners
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Lawyers
Public Relations
Legal Aid
Justice
Bar Associations
What entities or persons were involved?
Erle Stanley Gardner
Story Details
Key Persons
Erle Stanley Gardner
Event Date
Fifty Years Ago
Story Details
Excerpt from article by Erle Stanley Gardner on the historical respect for lawyers, their public relations failure, and their broader community roles in legislation and legal aid.