Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Encyclopedia
The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) was founded in 1874 by some 100 members of the St. Louis bench and bar. BAMSL currently has over 6,000 members and a vast network of committees and sections.
, already known to the law as the place where Dred Scott
filed his first state court action seeking his freedom. A month and a half later, they filed Articles of Agreement and a petition for incorporation giving form to the Bar Association of St. Louis.
The Articles were filed in downtown St. Louis in what was then, prior to the separation of St. Louis from St. Louis County, the St. Louis County Circuit Court. The organization they established, known since 1967 as The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, now claims a membership of over 6,000 and a vast network of committees and sections. Yet its key purposes have remained constant: to maintain high standards among practitioners of the law; to be watchful of the fair administration of justice, and to promote social relations among its members.
Two of the Association's early presidents--James O. Broadhead and Henry Hitchcock
--met with other lawyers in Saratoga, New York, in 1878 and founded the American Bar Association
(ABA). Broadhead became the first president of the ABA; Hitchcock was its 12th in 1889. Five other presidents of The St. Louis Bar Association have headed the ABA: James Hagerman (1903); Fredrick W. Lehman (1908); Guy A. Thompson (1931); Jacob M. Lashly (1940) and John Shepherd
(1986).
St. Louis Bar Association leaders were also instrumental in formation of The Missouri Bar Association in 1880, the precursor to the present integrated Missouri Bar of which all state lawyers and judges are required to be members. Broadhead and Hitchcock, as well as John Rutledge Shepley and Samuel M. Brechenridge, the first and second presidents respectively of The St. Louis Bar Association, were in the forefront of the 114 lawyers who met in Kansas City to establish The Missouri Bar Association.
Merit selection of judges was formally advocated by the Association as early as 1904. The Association's efforts in this area finally bore fruit in 1940 when the state Constitution was amended to establish the nonpartisan court plan in the Supreme Court, the courts of appeals and the circuit and probate courts of St. Louis and Jackson County. The amendment authorized extension of the plan to other judicial circuits by vote of the residents.
The Bar Association was also responsible for creation of the Legal Aid Society, today known as Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc. The Society was established in a fledgling form in the administration of Daniel G. Taylor, 1909-1910. Its purpose: to provide counsel for indigent persons.
History
On March 16, 1874, some 100 members of the St. Louis bar and bench convened to organize themselves professionally. Their forum was the Old CourthouseOld Courthouse
The Old St. Louis County Courthouse was built as a combination federal and state courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. Missouri's tallest habitable building from 1864 to 1894, it is now part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and operated by the National Park Service used for historical...
, already known to the law as the place where Dred Scott
Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
filed his first state court action seeking his freedom. A month and a half later, they filed Articles of Agreement and a petition for incorporation giving form to the Bar Association of St. Louis.
The Articles were filed in downtown St. Louis in what was then, prior to the separation of St. Louis from St. Louis County, the St. Louis County Circuit Court. The organization they established, known since 1967 as The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, now claims a membership of over 6,000 and a vast network of committees and sections. Yet its key purposes have remained constant: to maintain high standards among practitioners of the law; to be watchful of the fair administration of justice, and to promote social relations among its members.
Two of the Association's early presidents--James O. Broadhead and Henry Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock (Missouri lawyer)
Henry Hitchcock was a lawyer from St. Louis, Missouri. An early president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Hitchcock was a co-founder of the American Bar Association in 1878. He later became the twelfth president of the association in 1889.-Further reading:* Bar Association of St....
--met with other lawyers in Saratoga, New York, in 1878 and founded the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA). Broadhead became the first president of the ABA; Hitchcock was its 12th in 1889. Five other presidents of The St. Louis Bar Association have headed the ABA: James Hagerman (1903); Fredrick W. Lehman (1908); Guy A. Thompson (1931); Jacob M. Lashly (1940) and John Shepherd
John Shepherd
John Shepherd may refer to:*John James Shepherd , British Olympic tug of war competitor*John Shepherd , English footballer*John Shepherd , West Indian cricketer...
(1986).
St. Louis Bar Association leaders were also instrumental in formation of The Missouri Bar Association in 1880, the precursor to the present integrated Missouri Bar of which all state lawyers and judges are required to be members. Broadhead and Hitchcock, as well as John Rutledge Shepley and Samuel M. Brechenridge, the first and second presidents respectively of The St. Louis Bar Association, were in the forefront of the 114 lawyers who met in Kansas City to establish The Missouri Bar Association.
Merit selection of judges was formally advocated by the Association as early as 1904. The Association's efforts in this area finally bore fruit in 1940 when the state Constitution was amended to establish the nonpartisan court plan in the Supreme Court, the courts of appeals and the circuit and probate courts of St. Louis and Jackson County. The amendment authorized extension of the plan to other judicial circuits by vote of the residents.
The Bar Association was also responsible for creation of the Legal Aid Society, today known as Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc. The Society was established in a fledgling form in the administration of Daniel G. Taylor, 1909-1910. Its purpose: to provide counsel for indigent persons.
Current officers
- President: Bruce Hopson (Hopson Law Offices)
- President-Elect: Heather Hays, (Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch & Champion, LLC)
- Vice President: Jon Baris, (St. Louis University School of Law)
- Secretary: Joseph Frank, (Frank & Mueller]
- Treasurer: Rhiana Luaders (BryanCave, LLP)
Notable past officers
- James O. Broadhead (1874-75) - First President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
- Henry HitchcockHenry HitchcockHenry Hitchcock was the first Attorney General of Alabama, having been elected by the Alabama General Assembly in December 1819 in its initial session...
(1879-80) - President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and The Missouri Bar - James Hagerman (1899-1900) - President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
- James C. JonesJames C. JonesJames Chamberlain Jones was the Governor of Tennessee from 1841 to 1845, and a United States Senator from that state from 1851 to 1857...
(1916-17) - President of The Missouri Bar - Guy A. Thompson (1922-23) - President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and The Missouri Bar - Earnest A. Green (1926-27) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Jacob M. Lashly (1928-29) - President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
- Walter R. Mayne (1933-34) - Second President of The Missouri Bar after integration in 1944.
- Kenneth Teasdale (1934-35) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Roscoe Anderson (1938-39) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Roland F. O'Bryan (1940-41) - President of The Missouri Bar
- David L. Millar (1943-44) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Forrest M. Hemker (1944-45) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Harry Gershenson (1946-47) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Richmond C. Coburn (1947-48) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Hon. Russell H. Doerner (1950-51) - President of The Missouri Bar
- John H. Lashly (1960-61) - President of The Missouri Bar
- John C. Shepherd (1963-64) - President of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
- John H. Goodwin (1965-66) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Robert O. Hetlage (1967-68) - President of The Missouri Bar
- James E. McDaniel (1972-73) - President of The Missouri Bar
- John Fox Arnold (1975-76) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Hon. Richard B. TeitelmanRichard B. TeitelmanRichard B. Teitelman is currently a Judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the youngest of three children. At age 13, he was diagnosed as being legally blind. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969. Moving to...
(1989-90) - First Blind Missouri Supreme Court Justice - Mary-Louise Moran (1991-92) - First Women President of BAMSL
- Thomas M. Burke (1996-97) - President of The Missouri Bar
- Reuben A. Shelton (1998-99) - First African-American President of BAMSL
- Bruce Hopson - (2011-2012) - First Openly Gay President of BAMSL