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12 Great Lawyers Every Law Student Should Study
Domitius Ulpianus: This ancient jurist and writer is behind about
a third of the material from Emperor Justinian's Digest of Roman Law, even
though 39 jurists worked on the book, also called the Pandects. The Times
UK notes, too, that Domitius — who lived around AD 160-228 — has
influenced the legal structure and actual laws of over 60 countries
worldwide.
John Adams:
Before John Adams was elected the second president of the United States,
he was already making revolutionary changes to the social and legal
structure of the American colonies. Most respected for his staunch support
of the law as he defended British soldiers during the Boston Massacre —
which made him very unpopular and even threatened his family's
safety and the existence of his legal practice — John Adams succeeded in
convincing the Boston jury to acquit the British captain, a seemingly
impossible feat that no other lawyer wanted to even attempt.
Clara S. Foltz: Foltz
is best known for being the first female lawyer on the West Coast, although
she was first denied admission to the Hastings College of Law because of
her sex. Foltz took on her own case, sued the university, and was granted
admission. Similarly, Foltz had the California state law changed to allow
women and people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds to be accepted
by the bar after she passed the exam. During her career, Foltz led the
women's suffrage movement and championed the idea of a public defender for
indigent criminal defendants, a then-controversial idea that is now
standard procedure.
Abraham
Lincoln: Regarded as the quiet
leader who abolished slavery and united the quarreling states back
together, Abraham Lincoln wasn't always a success or even a big player in
politics. A famous graduate of home school, Lincoln served in the lower
house of the Illinois legislator and also worked as a lawyer. He had his
own practice with partners who came and went, and worked on all kinds of
cases, including criminal, transportation and expansion cases, patent law,
and more. While most lawyers today focus on a particular specialty,
Lincoln was open to "every kind of business that could come before a
prairie lawyer," as he once said.
Mahatma Gandhi: A
devout practitioner of non-violent opposition, Gandhi advocated for Indian
independence from the British and for the emancipation of Hindu
"untouchables," encouraging Indian Christians, Hindus and
Muslims to unite. But before making such a statement in India, Gandhi
studied law in London as a young man, worked in India as a lawyer, and
then moved to South Africa where he fought tirelessly for Indian human
rights in the region.
Alan Dershowitz: One
of the most famous and influential lawyers in contemporary society, Alan
Dershowitz has also taken on — and won — a variety of cases, including
celebrity trials and murder cases, involving high-profile figures like
Patty Hearst, O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson. Also a committed supporter of
Jewish issues, Dershowitz is a well-known commentator on the Arab-Israeli
conflict and has been called one of the "most distinguished defenders
of individual rights." Dershowitz became an assistant professor at
Harvard Law School in 1964, when he was just 25 years old, and was made
full professor three years later.
Sir
Thomas More: Sir Thomas More — who
has also been named a saint by the Catholic Church — served as a counselor
to Henry VIII of England and also as Lord Chancellor. Ultimately executed
by Henry VIII for not recognizing the Church of England, More was also a
social philosopher who coined the word "utopia" in his book by
the same name, a work that spawned an entire literary genre and commented
heavily on European politics at the time. During his career, More served
England as a lawyer and a public figure, working as a diplomat, Speaker of
the House of Commons, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and High
Stewart for Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Thurgood Marshall: Though he was denied admission to the
University of Maryland Law School simply because he was black, Thurgood
Marshall had a lifelong appreciation for the law and for the U.S.
Constitution's protection of all citizens, instilled in him from his
grandfather, a former slave. Marshall ultimately attended Howard
University Law School, and he also sued the University of Maryland when
the school refused to admit another black student three years after
rejecting Marshall. After law school, Marshall worked in New York as the
Chief Counsel for the NAACP and was asked to draft the constitution for
Ghana and the region that is now Tanzania, two areas that desperately
needed the influence of someone as devoted to human rights as Marshall.
Marshall fought many major cases over the course of his career, even leading the Brown v. Board of Education
case, supporting integration. He is also the first African American to
serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed by John F. Kennedy.
Clarence Darrow:
Another committed supporter of the protection of individual rights and
civil liberties was Clarence Darrow, a lawyer and influential member of
the ACLU who infamously represented John T. Scopes in the Scopes Monkey
Trial. As the son of a woman's suffrage supporter mother and abolitionist
father, Darrow was an outspoken critic of any laws or individuals who
encroached upon human rights. As a young man, Darrow served as town
counsel for Ashtabula, Ohio, but quickly moved up in his career and
eventually worked as a corporate lawyer in Chicago for the Chicago and
Northwestern Railway Company, only to break ties with his employer in
order to represent the the leader of the American Railway Union in a case
surrounding the Pullman Strike of 1864.
Nelson Mandela: Like
Gandhi, Nelson Mandela is most recognized for his campaign for human
rights and uniting a country, but he also worked as a lawyer before
serving as President of South Africa. While earning a law degree at the
University of Witwatersrand, Mandela met his future anti-apartheid
activists and friends. His law firm — Mandela and Tambo — was set up after
the 1948 election and offered free or low-cost legal counsel to
underrepresented blacks. When he was imprisoned for his participation with
the banned African National Congress and plotting to overthrow the
government, Mandela also enrolled in the extension program of the University
of London and received a bachelor of laws.
Thomas Jefferson: Many
U.S. presidents were lawyers before officially entering politics, but
Thomas Jefferson — writer of the Declaration of Independence — combined
both. An influential and prosperous landowner and farmer, Jefferson was a
county lieutenant, magistrate, member of the House of Burgesses, and
lawyer. He went on to serve in the Continental Congress, but after 1776,
he returned to Virginia to enter politics at the state level. Later
traveling to France to serve the U.S. abroad, Jefferson found his way back
to national politics and became the third president of the United States
in 1800, after having already set the foundation for the American legal
system.
Sadie Alexander: The
niece of the dean of Howard University, Sadie Tanner actually attended the
University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate and graduate school, becoming
the first African American woman to receive a PhD in the country. After
getting her graduate degree in economics, Sadie became the first African
American woman to graduate from law school — also from the University of
Pennsylvania — and the first African American woman to be admitted to the
bar in Pennsylvania. In addition to working alongside her husband at his
law practice, Sadie served on boards and organizations, including
President Harry Truman's Committee on Human Rights.
Domitius Ulpianus
