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In this 50th year of commemorating the annual Law Day celebration of the rule of law, it is only fitting that we focus on the past. I want to share the inspiring story of a legal effort that is rooted in the past and is making a difference for thousands of Ohioans in the present.
The fact that the inspiration for a May 1 celebration of law came from a history-making era – the Cold War – speaks to the significance of recognizing its historical underpinnings. Charles S. Rhyne, former president of the American Bar Association and originator of the Law Day concept, spoke about how he settled on this idea in a speech in May 2000. “For many years the American news media gave front page headlines and pictures to the Soviet Union’s May Day parade of new war weapons. I was distressed that so much attention was given to war-making rather than peace-keeping. My idea was to contrast the United States’ reliance on the rule of law with the Soviet Union’s rule by force.”
Mr. Rhyne drafted a proclamation for President Eisenhower, which he signed, declaring May 1, 1958, as the first Law Day. President Eisenhower nearly did not have an opportunity to sign the proclamation. His chief of staff at the time, Sherman Adams, thought the day had been set aside to praise lawyers and shoved the proclamation in his desk. Mr. Rhyne persevered and handed the proclamation to President Eisenhower personally.
After stifling an attempted interruption by his chief of staff, the President said: “Sherm, this proclamation does not contain one word praising lawyers. It praises our constitutional system of government, our great heritage under the rule of law, and asks our people to stand up and praise what they have created.”
While Law Day is an opportunity to reflect on the rich heritage of the American legal system, it is also an opportunity to recognize that our country’s great heritage under the rule of law is very brief when compared with the broad historic timeline of the history of the law in Western civilization. Consider pro bono service. This obligation of attorneys to facilitate public access to justice dates back to Roman times.
An article by Judith L. Maute for the November 2002 edition of the Tulane Law Review traces the history of lawyers’ pro bono responsibilities. “In ancient Rome, juris consults were patricians – men of rank, wealth and distinction – who gave legal advice without charge. They did so as a ‘gentlemen’s hobby’ related to their aristocratic leadership, and as part of their training for higher political position. As patrons, they undertook the role of orators for clients, who were often dependent members of the household. At various points in time, the advocates were legally forbidden to accept money or gifts in return for their services.”
Providing free legal assistance continued in medieval times, as noted by Deborah L. Rhode in Pro Bono in Principle and in Practice. “In medieval ecclesiastical courts, clerical advocates could be appointed to represent the poor, and some evidence from the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries suggests that they occasionally appeared in secular courts as well.”
That tradition continues in modern times. The Supreme Court of Ohio reemphasized the commitment for attorneys to provide pro bono legal services on a regular basis in the Preamble to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct in 2007.
Today, Ohio’s attorneys are participating in many varied and valuable pro bono activities. One of the most significant and far-reaching is the free legal assistance being provided for eligible Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure. More than 1,200 attorneys have volunteered to assist Ohio homeowners facing the potential loss of their homes. Offering legal aid to qualified homeowners represents the latest initiative of Ohio’s Save the Dream foreclosure prevention effort.
An extraordinary multi-agency effort, Save the Dream consolidates numerous state resources and programs related to foreclosure into one, unified program for citizens to access for assistance.
Many homeowners threatened with foreclosure cannot afford an attorney, and the resources available in the legal services community alone are inadequate to address the current need. Consequently, Attorney General Marc Dann, Ohio State Bar Association President Rob Ware and I sent a letter in February to more than 34,000 registered Ohio attorneys calling on them to offer free legal services to assist homeowners facing foreclosures.
The recruitment and training of attorneys will continue and the need for attorneys in rural areas of Ohio to participate is immense. Lawyers interested in volunteering should visit the OSBA Web site at http://www.ohiobar.org/.
It has been said that it takes 50 years in order to place historical events in their proper context. While we cannot place today’s foreclosure problem in perspective yet, I believe we will look back and see that this was one of the important issues of our times. It is a fundamentally social problem with a distinctly legal dimension. Drawing on a rich history of pro bono service dating to the Roman Empire, Ohio attorneys in remarkable numbers are stepping forward to help, and they are a credit to the profession.
These men and women are making real the historic values that have always been the foundation of the rule of law. They are the fulfillment of the promise of Law Day.