Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, March 2004 (Vol. 32, No. 7). All rights reserved.

ABA President Calls on Students to Be Healers

Dennis Archer loves the law. That's what the ABA president told students when he spoke at Duke University School of Law in November as part of the school's "Great Lives in the Law" series.

Archer described his decision to change career paths and move from teaching in Detroit's public schools to law, a change that he made upon the suggestion of his wife. Archer took the LSAT the first time it was offered. "[My scores] suggested I'd be successful, so I went to law school," he said.

Archer has a very involved history with the law. During his career, he has been president of the Wolverine Bar, the National Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, and now the ABA. He also was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court, where he served two terms before giving up that job to become mayor of Detroit.

People of color were not always welcome in the ABA, but in 1971 Archer was invited to instigate change. At the same time the ABA appointed him chair of the Commission for Minorities in the Profession in 1986, it also appointed Hillary Clinton as chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession.

"Hillary and I made quite a team," Archer said. "As I opened doors for lawyers of color, she knocked down the glass ceiling for women."

Archer may enjoy practicing law, but he loves using his skills and knowledge toward public service. His career choices reflect his belief that lawyers have a long history as, and responsibility to be, public servants.

"We do good work," Archer said. "Lawyers are the only ones who will step up to the plate to represent the poor and defenseless."

Archer believes lawyering is a "calling" and that lawyers are "ministers of justice." He told students to think of themselves as healers and that taking this view allows them to positively affect change in difficult situations. Archer gave students examples of Mohandas Gandhi, Franklin Roosevelt, and Thurgood Marshall as lawyers who have used their healing powers to impact the greater good of the people they serve.

Archer called on students to become active in their state or local bar association as well as the ABA as a vehicle to become involved in public service. "You will bring justice and resolution to issues that seem so incredibly unjust and so irresolute," he said.

While reminding students to lead a balanced life, Archer told students it will be very easy to become too busy to do anything besides work. "In connecting with your communities and the world, don't forget to connect with yourself and your loved ones," he said. "It won't be easy.… I am here to tell you it can be done."

Adapted from an article that appeared in the spring 2004 issue of Duke Law Magazine.