BAR ACTIVITIES

Source: American Bar Association Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3 (March 1949), pp. 241-243, 246
Published by: American Bar Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25716802
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 19
the defenders of individual liberty

BAR ACTIVITIES
and our free-enterprise system, and
that they should be the natural lead
ers of the community. Moreover, it
points out that what the people think
of lawyers determines the extent to
which they will follow the leadership
This department of the Journal, formerly under the editorship of Richard B. Allen,
of the Bar, support our judicial and
will hereafter be conducted by Paul B. DeWitt, the Chairman of the Section oflaw-enforcement
Bar system, support wise
Activities. Fundamentally it will remain the same?its purpose, in other words, islegislation
un and consult lawyers when
legal
changed. It will, however, be different in one respect: In the future the plan is to pre service is needed. It reports that
some
sent to the local and state bar associations a complete report of the best activities of $3,000,000 annually is paid to
unauthorized
the organized bar throughout the country. Each month the publications of the nation's practitioners for legal
services in Minnesota.
bar associations will be carefully scanned. Each month one or possibly two longer
The
items which, it is felt, should reach the readers of this department will be chosen. The program has four parts: (1)
choice of material will not be haphazardly made. The editors of the Journal a campaign in Minnesota news
and
the Editor of this department will screen the selections submitted. papers, containing messages to the
public at a high professional level
The whole concept of bar association activity was completely summed up by
which will serve to remind laymen of
Charles M. Lyman, of the Connecticut Bar, writing in the Connect/cut Bar Journal, Vol.
the many legal services rendered by
22, No. 1. Mr. Lyman put it this way: "To me, it is amazing that a man can devote
members of the Bar; (2) sponsoring
four years to his undergraduate courses and three years more to his law training,
a all
competition which will induce
members
in order to be allowed to practice law at all, and then fail to take an intense and of the public to stop to
think
self-sacrificing pride in the profession to which he has devoted some of the best years of "our priceless heritage of
of his life. This is especially surprising in the case of a profession that denies theliberty"
gain and of "the lawyer's place in
defense of that liberty"; (3) continu
ing of gold as its prime objective and lays down, as the ideal of its ethical and prac
ing and increasing services now being
tical reason for existing at all, altruistic and highly honorable service to the public.
rendered;
Yet, is one to expect to provide the maximum of that type of service solely by means (4) ensuring public confi
dence
of his own individual effort? Is it to be limited to the efforts that he puts forth in in the profession by maintain
ing scrupulously high standards of
behalf of the separate appeals of selfishly-motivated persons for his personal help?
ethics. For further information,
for a valuable consideration?
write: Bert A. McKasy, New York
"There can be but one answer. Only the organized Bar can fulfill the ideals Life
and Building, Minneapolis, 2.
destiny of the profession."
-?
The objective of this department, then, is to help the organized Bar help itself. Its
purpose will be well rewarded if once a month, in these columns, any bar association
Mark
can find recognition for some job well done.
with
To help a local bar association help itself, first the association must help us. What
state
have you done? You tell us?we'll tell the world! the O
held
Hotel
The Minnesota State Bar AssociaC. Thomas, of St. Paul, printed in ed 80
tion is undertaking a program ofthe brochure, urging his fellow coun for t
selors to support the program, de
public relations to combat subversive A on
clares that its primary purpose is "to
forces by informing the lay public of Nove
the American legal heritage and of see that the United States of America openi
the importance of legal institutionsremains a land of freedom and op nue A
in our national life. portunity for all, but, if this public by th
The program is outlined in relations
a program shall, as a by-prod collab
brochure prepared by the public uct, increase the prestige of the legal Assoc
relations committee of the associa
profession in our state, we shall ac meet
tion, headed by W. W. Gibson, of cept that gain as proper". ence
Minneapolis. A letter to members ofThe brochure notes that lawyers Confe
the association from President Paul
are by training and natural instinct Comm

Mar

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19 Bar Activities

and was presented because of recent The day,

Com
action of the Oklahoma Supreme Nebr
Legal Ed
Court in promulgating a pre-trial Law Tax
Inst
conference rule. the Ame
Plann
Jack Foster, editor of the Rocky nounced
appro
Mountain News, Denver, Colorado, A
attempt tw
t
ment
advisory
addressed the general assembly, and
Frank E. Holman, president of the Boston; W
cessf
American Bar Association, was the Yorkthe S
City
of Madis
in W
speaker at the annual dinner.
to serve
1948. a
William S. Hamilton, of Pawhuska, mittee. T
A fifteen-lecture course on Prob
Oklahoma, was elected president for state and
the ensuing year, and Hicks Epton, of lems of General Practice is being
schools
offered in Philadelphia in coopera a
Wewoka, Oklahoma, was elected vice
tions in t
president. H. T. Tumilty, of Okla tion with the Philadelphia Bar As
ries, inst
sociation. The course includes three
homa City, retiring president, was of import
elected to a three-year term on the lectures on each of five subjects,
cational p
Executive Council. Problems of Legal Draftsmanship,
gaged in
Accounting for Lawyers, Forms of
ate literat
?-<S> Business Organizations, Secured
will assis
Transactions and Estate Planning.
curing
The Columbus Bar The enrollment exceeds 250.
Association lec
February 1 The An Institute
held a Legal actu on the Revenue Act
Secreta
ever
Institute. The meetings be were
of 1948 was offered during the fall l
ensure
tended by over 170 legal secreta
and winter in Fargo, North Dakota; th
from Columbus
there andBoise,central mu
Idaho; Pittsfield, Massachu Oh
The Director of the
zations Institute
setts; Hartford, Connecticut; and w
nel
Catherine M. and
Snyder,Portsmouth,
Director Ohio. e
of
be done.
Katherine Gibbs School, of Chic
One-day institutes on Legal Prob
Miss Snyderhas stressed
been
lems particul
in Tax Returns were held in
team work appointm
and cooperation betw
four different cities in Wisconsin
lawyers andcommitte
secretaries?discuss
under the sponsorship of the Wis
to
the importance of coopera
first impressio
consin Bar Association, with the ag
To
appearance and secure
grooming, voice,
gregate attendance in excess of 350. p
permanen
sonality, receptionist techniques,
A similar institute was held in Chapel
mittee
fice etiquette, loyalty, office
Hill, North man
Carolina, for the North is
in
ment and efficiency. each Supplemen st
Carolina State Bar on January 21
tion
these points Helen Kiess, of of the t
O
and 22, and the same program will
accredite
Bell Telephone Company, gav
divisions be offered by the Chicago Bar Associ
demonstration of telephone
ation some time in February. t
has
niques and Margaret proveMcNamara,
ful of in In the development of Cal its litera
ecutive Secretary the
ture, the Committee hasColum
decided to
Bar Association, talked to the se
different
use the system of Reporters and Ad
taries aboutIt the many
has devices be a
visers
forms that are time-savers so successfully employed by and
the
most eff
American Law Institute in the prep
for a more efficient operation
the aration of the various Restatements
value in
law office. tion
The Association has
of the Law. hom
ceived numerous requests from th
everywhe A handbookthe
secretaries who attended entitled "Legal Prob
Instit
institute
lems in Tax Returns" is now avail
to hold further meetings and to c
connectio
tinue the type able in printed form. It is particularly
of educational
state barp
grams started adapted the
during to a one or two-day lecture
Institu
Such course on the an
preparation of federal
Further information on this activ
Act income oftaxMargaret
returns of noncorporate 19
may be secured from
vember will also 1
Namara, Huntingtonentities.
Bank This pamphletBuildi
Columbus. inghave considerable
of value on the li t
Associati
brary shelves of general practitioners.
_^_ The authors are Thomas P. Glass
lawyers i

242 American Bar Association Journal

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moyer and Sherwin T. McDowell, of
Philadelphia. The advisers are Pro
fessor Paul G. Kauper, of the Univer
sity of Michigan; Robert B. Throck
morton, of Des Moines, Iowa; Joyce
Stanley, of New York City; and Cal
vin Rankin, of Philadelphia.
A syllabus on the "Revenue Act of
1948", prepared by George E. Cleary,
of New York City, was used success
fully and extensively for the courses
on that subject referred to above.
That syllabus is now being revised
and expanded by Mr. Cleary as Re
porter under the title "Wills, Trusts
and Estate Planning". The advisers
are Mayo A. Shattuck, of Boston;
David Richmond, of Washington,
D.C.; Joseph O'Meara Jr., of Colum
bus, Ohio; and John Paul Jackson,
of Dallas, Texas. It is contemplated
that an additional Adviser will be
secured to provide necessary material
as to the law in community property
states.
Legal Aid in the Federal Courts
Inaugurated at New York Meeting
A significant advance in the de
velopment of legal aid on an ever
broadening base of usefulness was
signalized at proceedings held in the
United States Courthouse in Foley
Square, New York City, on January
7. On that occasion there was in
augurated the Federal Courts Divi
sion of the Legal Aid Society of New
York. Represented with distinction
were the United States Court of Ap
peals and District Court and New
York City Magistrates. The United
States Attorney for the Southern Dis
trict of New York was present to
gether with representatives of the
Legal Aid Society and of the Com
mittee on Legal Aid of the Associa
tion of the Bar of the City of New
York and the Committee on Legal
Aid Work of the American Bar
Association.
Judge John C. Knox of the Dis
trict Court presided in the best tra
dition. None would dispute his
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Material is also being prepared on
the subject of Federal Control of
Commercial Practices. Professor Rob
ert R. Bowie, of Harvard Law School,
and Professor S. Chesterfield Oppen
heim, of George Washington Univer
sity Law School, will be the Reporters.
The Advisers will be Walter Deren
berg, of New York City; Armin John
son, of Minneapolis; Herbert Clark,
of San Francisco; and one or more
to be chosen later.
Intensive work is under way for the
preparation of materials on various
aspects of Legal Draftsmanship. The
Reporter will be Professor Marlin M.
Volz, of the University of Wisconsin
Law School, and the Advisers will be
J. G. Thomas, of Champaign, Illi
nois; William L. Holloway, of San
Francisco; Alan Loth, of Fort Dodge,
Iowa; and Richard Bentley, of
Chicago.
A comprehensive syllabus on La
bor Law and Labor Negotiations has
characterization of Judge Learned
Hand as "one of the outstanding
jurists in all this world". Judge
Hand is held in universal esteem and
affectionate regard.
In emphasizing the importance of
this new branch of legal aid, Judge
Hand said, "It is a shocking thing not
to give expert help to a man who is
accused of crime". Commenting up
on the impossibility of a layman
without funds ascertaining and un
derstanding the rules under which
he might be deprived of his property
or his liberties or perhaps even his
life, Judge Hand strongly deprecated
the "shocking" necessity, absent
legal aid, of saying to such a defend
ant, "we are going to impose the
rules on you. We are very sorry if
you haven't any money to get an
expert to help you to present your
side". And so he rejoiced in the ac
complishment of this new legal aid.
Judge Knox paid high tribute to
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Bar Activities
19
been prepared with Marcus Manoff,
of Philadelphia, as? Reporter, and
Professor Russell N. Sullivan, of the
University of Illinois; Edward Davis,
of Philadelphia; Charles Hamilton
Jr., of New York City; and Minier
Sargent, of Chicago, as Advisers. Pub
lication of this material is being with
held pending new congressional leg
islation, but the work will be off the
press almost immediately after final
enactment.
Similar literature is also under
preparation on the subjects of Legal
Problems of Small Businesses, Ac
counting for Lawyers, and Bank
ruptcy.
Further information regarding the
national program can be obtained by
writing to the Director, John E. Mul
der, 133 South 36th Street, Phila
delphia 4, Pennsylvania, or to the
Director for the Western Area, Pro
fessor James E. Brenner, Stanford
University Law School, Stanford Uni
versity, California.
Whitney North Seymour, President
of the Legal Aid Society, for his fine
work looking to the constitution of
its new branch. In Mr. Seymour's ab
sence, he presented the Vice Presi
dent of the organization, Timothy
N. Pfeiffer. To him the Clerk pre
sented the keys to the Society's
new offices in the Courthouse. Mr.
Pfeiffer told of the years during
which the judges of the District
Court and the United States At
torney had cooperated in the con
tinuing effort to secure adequate
professional representation for poor
persons accused of crime.
John F. X. McGohey, the United
States Attorney, followed Mr. Pfeif
fer, and he said, "I think it should
be noted in the record . . . that there
is probably no place in the world
where the organized Bar has to its
credit such a devotion to the defense
(Continued on page 246)
March, 1949 Vol. 35 243
21
wm?m Tax Notes
the allocation. In view of the out
come therefore one may assume that
such covenants will be treated by the
Tax Court as merely incidental to
the transfer of good will. The pur
chaser's amortization deduction will
be disallowed and the seller will not
be considered to have received ordi
nary income. See Aaron Michaels, 12
T.C. ?, No. 3, decided January
13, 1949.
This rule probably would not be
applicable, at least to the payee, in
the case of a covenant by an officer
or stockholder of the seller. Cox v.
Helvering, 71 F. (2d) 987. This and
other similar cases were distinguished
in the first Toledo Blade case on the
ground that the promisor was not
selling anything. Whether this would
change the situation from the point
of view of the buyer remains to be
determined. Compare Christensen
Machine Company, supra, cited in
the dissenting opinion in the second
Toledo Blade case but not referred
to by the majority.
Chicago Council Meeting
Action on Church Case
The Council and Committee Chair
men of the Section of Taxation met
in Chicago on January 29 and ?0.
Members of the Section are being
Legal Aid in Federal Courts
(Continued from page 243)
of those charged with serious crime".
Orison S. Marden spoke as Chair
man of the Committee on Legal Aid
of the Association of the Bar and of
the standing Committee on Legal
Aid Work of the American Bar As
sociation. He gave great credit to
Judge Knox for the inspiration de
rived from his address to the Society
in 1947. He explained the objec
tive, at last achieved, of securing
$45,000 to finance the new project
for three years. He called attention
to the particularly helpful work of
Harrison Tweed, former President
of the Association of the Bar, Mr.
Seymour, Mr. Pfeiffer, Mrs. Van
Wagoner, Executive Secretary of the
Society, and Judge Callagy, its at
246 American Bar Association Journal
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advised by a bulletin of the several
proposals for tax law changes and
other matters which are under con
sideration in the various committees.
One of the high points of the
meeting was the discussion of the
Churchi case decided by the Supreme
Court on January 17. Byway of back
ground: In March, 1930, the Su
preme Court in May v. Heiner, 281
U. S. 238, held that a transfer with a
life interest reserved to the grantor
was not a transfer intended to "take
effect in possession or enjoyment" at
the grantor's death within the mean
ing of the estate tax law; the prop
erty was therefore not subject to tax.
This decision was reaffirmed in three
per curiam decisions announced on
March 2, 1931. On March 3, 1931,
Congress passed a Joint Resolution
making the estate tax specifically ap
plicable to such transfers. In Hassett
v. Welch, 303 U.S. 303 (1938), the
Supreme Court reviewed the legisla
tive history of the Joint Resolution
and held that it was intended to op
erate prospectively only, and that it
did not apply to pre-1931 transfers.
This left the rule of May v. Heiner
applicable to prior transfers. Treas
ury Regulations published and re
published throughout this period and
in effect today give effect to this un
torney-in-chief. Finally, he sounded
a serious note of warning of the
pressing need for more legal aid
throughout the nation, pointing out .
that there are sixty cities with popu
lations of 100,000 or more with no
legal aid office.
Judge Knox closed the meeting
with eloquent words as to the no
table character of the day's event.
"This is indeed an occasion", he
said, "that should bring a sense of
comfort to all persons who believe
that, in the administration of justice,
equal right must be done?not alone
to the rich, but also to the poor".
Speaking of the ability of his
hearers to employ counsel, he con
tinued: "But, as respects the poor,
the lonely and the friendless, this,
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derstanding of the law.
The Church case overrules May v.
Heiner and, notwithstanding the in
tervening legislative and administra
tive history, holds that property
transferred before 1931 with a life in
terest reserved must be included in
the grantor's gross estate.
The decision has been widely criti
cized as judicial legislation. See the
dissenting opinion of Mr. Justice
Frankfurter.
At the Chicago meeting the Coun
cil of the Section of Taxation pro
posed that the American Bar Asso
ciation recommend corrective legis
lation to Congress. The proposed leg
islation would make it clear that in
enacting the Joint Resolution of
March 3, 1931, Congress intended
that as to any transfer made prior to
March 3, 1931, the mere retention by
the transferor of a life estate shall
not in itself cause the transfer to be
taxable under Section 811 (c), I.R.C.,
as a transfer to take effect in posses
sion or enjoyment at or after death.
In other words, the rule of May v.
Heiner would apply to pre-1931
transfers. This proposal was unani
mously adopted by the House of Del
egates at the Mid-Winter Meeting.
Perhaps Congress will have the last
word after all.
unfortunately, has not always been
the fact. They have had at their
disposal?I am glad to say?the ad
vice, effort and capacity of numer
ous members of the Bar who?un
sung, unpaid, and without resources
for making any extended factual
investigation, have ably done the
best that could be done ... all too
frequently, however, the best that
could be done was far from enough.
This condition is about to be rem
edied."
No more exalted aim can occupy
the attention of the organized Bar
than conscientious and continuing
effort to reach the goal of adequate
legal representation, within their
means or without charge if neces
sary, for all who need it.