Annual Report 1962
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THE AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION p. ·. THE COVER: "Grandes conientes juddicas" is based on a clmwing which appeared in a b1'0chure f1'0m the Institud de Dm·echo Comparativo of Mexico City. THE AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATIOi4 ., ~~ 496-1=~962 AMERICAN BAR CENTER 1 1 5 5 .E A S T 6 o t h S T R E E T CHICAGO 37, l,LLINOIS WmTNEY NoR1'H SEYMOUR THERE IS SO MUCH GOOD MATERIAL in this report that I do not want to delay the process by an extended introduction. Rather, writing this at the holiday season, let me figuratively break a bottle of champagne over the bow of the report and launch it on its way. I am very proud to do so because it reflects notable growth and development of the Foundation. The situation is sound, and we have been most fortunate to have Blythe Stason, John C. Leary, Donald Mcintyre and their colleagues on its bridge and now to add Harry Jones to the top command. Fine work has been done and many important projects are underway, but, if it has not become trite to say so, we can now be reasonably sure that this past is really only prologue. The Fellows and all the members of the American Bar Association will be proud of our new quarters when they inspect them in August; they will be still prouder of what is done there. WmTNEY NORTH SEYMOUR President 2 E. BLYTHE STASON vVE ARE SOMETIMES ASKED the question, What is there that is unique about the research program of the American Bar Founda tion? What does the Foundation do that cannot be done as well, or perhaps even better, by others, for example, by the American Law Institute, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uni form State Laws, the law institutes established by law faculties or the individual members of the law faculties themselves? Is there any really special function to be carried out by the American Bar Foundation, or is it simply another and possibly even overlapping agency in the field of legal research? We pay great tribute to the work which is so well carried on by others, but beyond question there is a unique field for the American Bar Foundation. How can we define it? First of all, it has become ever so apparent that the development of the legal framework of contemporary society is lagging far behind the development of technology, science, medicine and the other human activities in the current scene. The latest volume of 3 Statistical Abstracts tells us that in the scientific and technological fields more than fourteen billion dollars are expended each year in research and development of our physical environment. Yet -less than ten million dollars per year are expended for research and development in the law and administration of justice. There is so much to be done to update our legal system, to keep it abreast of the times and to place it in a position to meet the demands of the day, that there is ample room for the efforts of all existing legal research and development organizations, and even more. On the other hand, I am prepared to pr¥dict that inside of the next decade we in the legal profession will, somewhat belatedly, become genuinely conscious of the needs and will see to it that developmental work in the law and administration of justice does not lag behind development in other areas of human activity. In this upsurging milieu we can clearly see at least four especial tasks for the implementation of which the American Bar Foundation is peculiarly fitted: 1. The Bar Foundation can and does undertake all manner of studies related to the legal profession itself. Among these are studies of legal education, admission to the bar, number and distribution of lawyers, income of lawyers, organization of the bar, professional ethics and discipline, specialization at the bar, economic and pro fessional status of lawyers and all else related to the profession, which, according to the latest edition of the Martindale-Hubbell, now numbers 285,000 members. Self-examination is always useful. The American Bar Foundation is uniquely qualified not only by its position in relation to the organized bar but, also, by the compre hensive bar collection and research facilities of the William Nelson Cromwell Library to examine our professional house and help to keep it in good order. A half-dozen studies of this sort are now underway. 2. The Bar Foundation is, also, in a strategically favorable posi tion to tap the intellectual resources of the bar itself-the practical experience of men who are constantly rendering professional service to clients or to the public, and who are thus in a position to observe the deficiencies of the law and the administration of justice as these affect human beings. No other legal research organization can so well marshal these professional resources on such a comprehensive basis. The Foundation can tap this tremendous pool of knowledge, experience and judgment. This important and unique partnership 4 between the bar and the research program of the Foundation is developed at length in a later portion of this report. 3. The Bar Foundation by virtue of its position can open doors of information that are not likely to be opened to others. For example, the project involving the administration of criminal justice has had available to it sources of information in the courts, in clerks' offices and in departments of public safety that simply could not be reached by any organization lacking the prestige and authority of the organized American Bar. This accessibility of information is an invaluable asset of the Foundation. 4. The Bar Foundation can and does undertake large-scale proj ects, particularly those involving massive studies of the application of law to life, so-called factual or empirical research. In fact, such studies are an important part of the Foundation program. Because such research involves teamwork, often assembling the efforts of skilled persons in different parts of the country, and often calling upon the resources of different disciplines, it is not so likely to be undertaken by law faculty members or faculty groups; nor does such research fall within the normal programs of the American Law Institute, the National Conference of Commissioners or most other existing groups. Library research for the preparation of articles and treatises on the basis of the existing written materials are most useful, but, more and more, the future of legal research is going to be devoted to actual observation of the operation of legal institu tions in the field as they protect or impinge upon the rights and privileges of human beings. From such research will be drawn the lines of development of the legal framework of the future. It is a massive and expensive task. The American Bar Foundation is able to cope with it. These, then, are the answers to the question, What is unique about the work of the American Bar Foundation? It is based upon uniquely available resources. It can and does fill needs not other wise likely to be met. These tasks can be carried forward without encroaching upon the activities of other developmental organizations in the legal field. The Foundation can become a source of new and useful legal ideas that will help fit the legal framework to the changing world. E. BLYTHE STASON Administrator 5 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WmTNEY NORTH SEYMOUR President, 120 Broadway, New York 5, N. Y. _ WILLIAM T. GOSSETT Vice-President, 420 Goodhue Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. ROBERT K. BELL Secretary, 801 Asbury Ave., Ocean City, N. J. GLENN M. COULTER Treasurer, Ford Building, Detroit 26, Mich. (Ex- officio) ANDREW J. DALLSTREAM" 231 S. LaSalle St., Chicago 4, Ill. HAROLD J. GALLAGHER One Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York 5, N. Y. WILLIAM P. GRAY 458 S. Spring St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. ERWIN N. GRISWOLD Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge 38, Mass. ~ EDwARD H. LEVI Law School, University of Chicago, Chicago 37, Ill. Ross L. MALONE Security National Bank Building, Roswell, N. Mex. ASHLEY SELLERS 1625 K St., N.W., Washington 6, D. C. Ex officio: CuTirnERT s. BALDWIN ll08 Richards Building, New Orleans 12, La. OSMER c. FITTS 16 High St., Brattleboro, Vt. DONALD D. HARRIES Alworth Building, Duluth 2, Minn. JOHN C. SATTERFIELD Box 466, Yazoo City, Miss. SYLVESTER c. SMITH, JR. Prudential Plaza, Newark 1, N. J. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ROBERT K. BELL 801 Asbury Ave., Ocean City, N. J. ANDREW J. DALLSTREAM" 231 S. LaSalle St., Chicago 4, Ill. HAROLD J. GALLAGHER One Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York 5, N. Y. EDwARD H. LEVI Law School, University of Chicago, Chicago 37, Ill. Ex officio: WHITNEY NORTH SEYMOUR 120 Broadway, New York 5, N. Y. STANDING COMMITTEES BUDGET DONALD D. HARRIES Chairman, Alworth Building, Duluth 2, Minn. GLENN M. COULTER Ford Building, Detroit 26, Mich. ANDREW J. DALLSTREAM 0 231 S. La Salle St., Chicago 4, Ill. FINANCE WILLIAM T. GOSSETT Chairman, 420 Goodhue Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. HAROLD H. BREDELL Circle Tower, Indianapolis 4, Ind. HAROLD J. GALLACHER One Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York 5, N. Y. GEORGE s. GEFFS One S. Main St., Janesville, Wis. ORISON s. MARDEN 14 Wall St., New York 5, N. Y. 0 Deceased, June, 1962. 6 LIBRARY SERVICES CARL B. fux Chairman, Wells Building, Milwaukee 2, Wis. ARTHUR A. CHARPENTIER 42 W. 44th St., New York 36, N. Y. JUDSON F. FALKNOR School of Law, New York University, New York 3, N.Y. CHARLES A. McNABB Chicago Bar Association Library, 29 S. LaSalle St., Chicago 3, Ill.