Law Group Opens Research Center

The day after the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) dropped a bombshell resolution-to dump the Haynsworth nomination-it held dedication ceremonies for its research center.

The building, financed and built by the Roscoe Pound-American Trial Lawyers Foundation, now centralizes services of the Foundation, an educational and research branch of the ATLA, and the Association itself, which tries to bridge the gap between law school and law practice.

Last Saturday's ceremonies for the Association's center, featured former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark as speaker. Other guest speakers included Terry Lenzner 61, director of the Legal Services program of the Office of Economic Opportunity Robert B. McKay, dean of the New York University School of Law; Arthur Sutherland, Bussey Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School; and other noted figures of the law profession.

The ATLA publishes three periodicals, conducts nationwide seminars, and provides library services to keep lawyers in touch with legal developments.

General Director of the Association, William Schwartz, Fletcher Professor of Law at Boston University Law School, said, "We have a very energetic and active department of public affairs connected with great public issues. For example, on the entire question of auto safety, to a great extent, we were responsible for improvements in auto production."

Annually, the Association publishes Journal, a compendium of scholarly materials written on legal topics. Another publication, the Newsletter, is a monthly collection of cases and their summaries. Trial magazine, the only national legal magazine in the country, reflects the Association's attitudes on public affairs relevant to the legal profession.

To promote and continue legal education, the Association coordinates a seminar program at legal institutions through on the country.

Two types of programs exist. One, more sophisticated and directed than the other, deals with specific legal topics, such as products liability and criminal law. These seminars usually last two days.

In 15 other cities, more basic seminars in trial advocacy are held. This is a program designed to equip lawyers with basic courtroom skills. Schwartz explained. "We're trying to help lawyers solve today's problems with tomorrow's techniques." Many of the nation's law schools conduct similar seminars as part of the ATLA program.

The ideas behind the Association stem from the philosophy of Roscoe Pound, former dean of the Harvard Law School, former editor-in-chief of the Association Journal, and Schwartz said "possibly greatest legal scholar of the last century."

In 1946 two disciples of Pound, Samuel B. Horovitz 19 and colleague Ben Marcus organized the ATLA in Boston to give injured workmen compensation where no laws yet had been enacted.

Pound's extensive library is now housed at the Center on 20 Garden Street. The library was moved to the Center under the conditions of Pound's will that it be kept as he had arranged it. Books on botany still are shelved next to his law books, showing the versatile intellect of this legal scholar.