with flair, fervor and fun
By Faye A. Silas
As the end of the year rapidly approaches and we prepare to turn the page on the old century and welcome in the new millennium, bar associations across the country are recognizing their history and anticipating their future by celebrating milestone anniversaries. The years of 1998, 1999 and 2000 feature a sizable number of bars that have planned various activities--grand and modest--to celebrate the bar as an organization, their members, the community and the legal profession at large.Planning a celebration is no small feat, as noted in the accompanying articles. While often time consuming, both staff and volunteers believe it is essential for members and the public to recognize their achievements.
Bar Leader agrees. The following summaries highlight the activities of those bar associations that have celebrated, are celebrating or will celebrate milestone dates of their founding between 1998 and 2000. We congratulate these bars for the ongoing service they have provided to their members, the community and the legal profession over many, many years.
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 125th anniversary, 1999: Bar officials will publish a hard-bound history of the bar and a 12-month series of historical articles about the bar and legal profession in St. Louis. The May issue of the St. Louis Lawyer features the first article in the series and it focuses on the formation of the St. Louis bar in 1974. On the cover are photos of John Shepley, the bar’s first president in 1874 and current President Carol Chazen Friedman. Bar officials will also hold a banquet this fall.
Bar Association of Nassau County, N.Y., 100th anniversary, 1999: The bar’s centennial began last year with several free public education seminars. A Distinguished Scholar Lecture featuring the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain was part of the commemorative activities, as were symposia series for solo practitioners and another featuring the case of the century. Special luncheons and gala dinners were held from last August through June. Adding to the festiveness, t-shirts, golf shirts and baseball caps, as well as a white stuffed lamb proclaiming the "Best B-A-A-A- in the Country" and featuring the centennial logo were available for sale from the bar’s store. The bar is also waging a centennial campaign to raise funds for the association.
Chattanooga Bar Association (Tenn.), 100th anniversary, 1998: (See "The Chattanooga Bar Association Centennial: What we did and how we did it," p.16, and "Gift, letters are part of local bar legacy for 2097," Bar Leader, Spring 1999, p. 13.)
Chicago Bar Association, 125th anniversary, 1998-99: The bar’s year-long celebration kicked off last September with a dinner that featured U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Other activities included symposia on unfair criticism of the judiciary; a special commemorative issue of the CBA Record, the bar’s monthly magazine; and a concluding dinner in May featuring Mayor Richard M. Daley as keynote speaker. The bar was founded in 1898, 2-1/2 years after the Chicago fire.
Cleveland Bar Association, 125th anniversary, 1998: The bar held a black-tie gala in March 1998, which raised $125,000 for a law-related education program in the Cleveland Public Schools. A special 125th anniversary issue of the Cleveland Bar Journal was published in January 1998 featuring articles about the history of the bar and Cleveland’s law schools, a retrospective about the changes made over the years to bar journal, and brief observances about the bar written by 16 past presidents.
The bar unveiled a new, contemporary logo, which, it says, "bridges the gap between the last 125 years and the century to come." The logo was sculpted in ice as a centerpiece and the image was incorporated into the dessert at the gala dinner.
Delaware State Bar Association, 75th anniversary, 1999: As part of its 75th anniversary, the bar held a gala dinner last November to honor the first 80 women to be admitted to the Delaware bar. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivered the keynote address. (See "Bars celebrate lives, accomplishments of first generation of women lawyers," Bar Leader, May 1999, p.8.)
Essex County Bar Association (Newark, N.J.), 100th anniversary, 1999: With Honor and Dignity: 100 Years of the Practice of Law in Essex County, a beautifully written and illustrated book is the centerpiece of the Essex County Bar Association’s centennial. The 232-page historical account discusses the legal profession and its role in Essex County over the past century. The hard-cover book was published last fall. The bar also held a gala dinner in January to celebrate the centennial.
Milwaukee Bar Association, 140th anniversary, 1998: The bar’s activities included the sponsorship of a Jazz in the Park concert for members and the public last summer, a special booklet about the history of the bar and a special 140th anniversary issue of the newsletter. The bar foundation produced an original play called "Storm Clouds: The Trial of Sherman Booth," an 1858 case that dealt with a runaway slave.
New Orleans Bar Association, 75th anniversary, 1999: Members will receive a special invitation to the bar’s annual meeting this year; profiles of founding members will appear in four issues of the bar’s newsletter; and upcoming broadcasts of the bar’s weekly television program will feature reviews of the bar, the 20th century and several "Great American Trials" that involved New Orleans lawyers. Bar officials revised their logo to include the tag line, "Leading the legal community for 75 years."
New York County Lawyers Association, 90th anniversary, 1998: To celebrate its 90th year, the New York County Lawyers Association commissioned Artist Delbart Duchein to create a rendering of the bar’s headquarters, called the Home of Law, a historic landmark building at 14 Vesey Street in downtown Manhattan. Renowned architect, Cass Gilbert, who designed the Woolworth Building in New York City and U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., designed the bar’s classical, Georgian-style structure. The building, dedicated in 1930, was part of a walking tour and open house of six buidings designed by Gilbert held last fall.
The History Committee put together an exhibition about the Home of Law that was open to the public. The presentation included photographs, speeches and other memorabilia. Other activities included a reception for sustaining members of the bar, where 12 lawyers received certificates for being 50-year members; a 90th anniversary annual dinner that honored the bar’s 14 living past presidents; and a special anniversary sticker used on bar mailings.
North Carolina Bar Association, 100th anniversary, 1999: (See "Centennial is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for N.C. bar," p. 18.)
Rhode Island Bar Association, 100th anniversary, 1998: The theme, "Century of Justice," carried through the year-long celebration of the Rhode Island Bar Association’s centennial. Among the bar’s activities were a history book of law in Rhode Island, which included a history of the bar association; and a 10-minute video about the bar highlighted by comments from past presidents, current members and young lawyers that was shown at the bar’s annual meeting.
In addition, 12 themes of law ranging from civil rights to immigration were selected, and each issue of the bar’s monthly Journal featured articles devoted to those themes. The bar also commissioned a local artist to prepare a commemorative painting depicting five landmark courthouses in the state. The limited edition, signed and numbered lithograph was available for sale. Finally, bar officials held an open house for the public and local dignitaries on May 18, 1998, the date of the bar’s founding 100 years ago.
San Diego County Bar Association, 100th anniversary, 1999: A year of celebration began in January as the bar unveiled a statue of Lady Justice in the rotunda of the county’s Hall of Justice. Also, the bar coordinated a special session of the California Supreme Court at California Western School of Law in April; hung centennial banners along the street where the bar facility is located; will hold a "Trial of the Century" in September; and a President’s Centennial Dinner Gala in November, which will be attended by the daughter of the bar’s first president in 1899.
Bar officials have also prepared a video and book that will offer a historical overview of the bar. Later this year, a time capsule will be sealed. The opening date is 2049.
State Bar of Texas, 60th anniversary, 1999: A cake featuring the state bar seal was presented at the April 16 Board of Directors’ meeting to recognize the bar’s 60th year. The board passed a resolution, and the bar issued a news release about its history. The recognition was also written about in an issue of the Texas Bar Journal.
The Florida Bar, 50th anniversary, 1999-2000: The bar is engaged in early planning for its golden anniversary, says President-elect Edith Osman of Miami. At the kick-off during the bar’s annual convention in June, there will be a processional of past bar presidents, chief judges from the state’s 32 judicial circuits and the Florida Supreme Court. Past Florida bar and American Bar Association President Chesterfield Smith will speak about the history of the bar. Other activities, including a celebration of the bar’s first 100 women members, will also be held during the year-long celebration.
The author is the editor of Bar Leader.
