Long-awaited Record
of Attorneys' Activities Ready
by Don Hollingsworth and Ann Pyle
On behalf of the Arkansas Bar Association
and the Arkansas Bar Foundation, it is with great pleasure that we announce
the publication of the long-awaited manuscript, Old Seeds in the
New Land: History and Reminiscences of the Bar of Arkansas, written
by Dr. Robert R. Wright. This manuscript is a well researched, carefully
documented work that chronicles the development of the legal profession
and analyzes and interprets the role and influence of lawyers throughout
the state's existence. Attorneys have made important contributions to
this state, and now there is a record of their activity. Copies are
now available for sale through the Arkansas Bar Foundation.
The cost is $50.00 per book, plus $5.00
shipping and handling. Please call the Arkansas Bar Foundation at (501)
375-4606 or (800) 609-5668 or email apyle@arkbar.com to order your copy
today.
We would like to begin by recognizing
the individuals for whom without their diligent and ongoing efforts,
this book would not have come to fruition. From 1987 to the present,
the two chairs of the Arkansas Bar Association History of the Bar Committee,
the late Justice George Rose Smith and Justice John A. Fogleman, were
fervent leaders in ensuring that this project was accomplished. The
other members who served on the Committee between 1987 and today are
too numerous to mention, but we would be remiss if we did not mention
that Peg Smith and Frances Ross served on the Committee for the entire
fourteen years.
In 1993, the Committee selected Dr. Robert
R. Wright to write this book. Since that time, he has donated his time
and expertise in researching and writing this manuscript.
This project was not one which occurred
overnight. Back in October of 1987, Justice George Rose Smith, the chair
of the Arkansas Bar Association History of the Bar Committee, requested
funds from the Arkansas Bar Foundation to support the research and writing
of the history of the Arkansas Bar. This idea came forth following Arkansas'
Sesquicentennial anniversary in 1986. It was apparent that despite the
important role of the bar and its members on the development of Arkansas,
nowhere was the bar examined in depth historically. The History of the
Bar Committee of the Arkansas Bar Association determined that after
151 years of statehood, it was time to fill that gap and produce a manuscript
that would make a lasting contribution not only to the bar but also
to the history of the State of Arkansas.
Over the course of the next decade, the
Arkansas Bar Foundation awarded the History of the Bar Committee four
special projects grants for this project to assist with research, travel
and printing costs. In addition to the Foundation grants, contributions
for the project were received as well. In October of 1988, a letter
from then Association President Phil Dixon and then Foundation President
Robert Dawson requested that lawyers donate funds to this project. In
return, the donor's name would be listed in the book and they would
receive a specially bound copy signed by the author A total of sixty
three (63) Arkansas attorneys and law firms answered the call and contributed
funds to the Arkansas Bar Foundation for this project during the 1988-89
bar year. Thanks to their generosity, along with several Foundation
grants, funding for this research work was possible.
In June of 2001, the Arkansas Bar Foundation
Board of Directors and Arkansas Bar Association leadership approved
a proposal submitted by Mort Gitelman on behalf of M and M Press to
publish the completed manuscript. The copies of the book were delivered
to the Foundation office in October of 2001 and are available for sale.
We hope you enjoy reading about the history
of Arkansas' legal profession. It is with gratitude that we extend our
congratulations and thanks to all who made this important project possible,
especially Dr. Robert R. Wright.
