[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 106 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9583-S9584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE OF CHESTERFIELD SMITH OF MIAMI, FLORIDA

 Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to express 
sadness at the passing of a legendary Floridian. Yesterday evening, 
Chesterfield Smith, one of the Nation's great attorneys, passed away in 
Coral Gables.
  Recognized by many as the conscience of the legal profession, 
Chesterfield's accomplishments are almost too numerous to count. A 
World War II veteran, founder of one of the country's most prestigious 
law firms and an accomplished litigator, he dedicated himself to his 
family and his country.
  He is probably best known on the national scene for his tenure as 
president of the American Bar Association during the Watergate scandal. 
Following the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, 
Chesterfield courageously stood up to the President of the United 
States, publicly calling on Congress to reestablish the Office of 
Special Prosecutor.
  Smith's brave and bold reminder that the ``No man is above the law'' 
altered the course of public debate during that difficult time.
  That bravery carried over to his private practice as well. 
Chesterfield believed in individual accomplishment

[[Page S9584]]

and personal responsibility. A fierce civil rights advocate who opposed 
segregation in the Old South, he aggressively challenged the color 
barrier by making his law firm a model of diversity.
  Chesterfield always led by example, but also challenged others in his 
profession to get involved. He encouraged his colleagues to ``be 
somebody'' in their communities. His passion and commitment to 
bettering our society influenced an entire generation of attorneys.
  Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg described him perfectly when she said 
of Chesterfield. ``He has devoted his extraordinary talent and energy 
to the improvement of the legal profession, to making the profession 
more honorable, more responsive to the people law and lawyers serve. 
She went on, ``He is, in sum, among the brightest, boldest, bravest, 
all-around most effective lawyers ever bred in Florida and the USA.''
  I send my condolences to his family and friends on this sad day. His 
death is a grievous loss to the entire country. He will be greatly 
missed.
  I ask that an obituary chronicling Mr. Smith's life be printed in the 
Record.
  The obituary follows.

 Chesterfield Smith, International Law Firm Founder and Outspoken ABA 
                 President During Nixon-Era, Dies at 85


Smith's ``No Man is Above The Law'' Was Turning Point in Public Call to 
                      Investigate President Nixon

       Chesterfield Smith, 85, of Miami, one of the country's most 
     prominent figures in modern law and often called ``the 
     conscience of the legal profession,'' died today at Doctors 
     Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida.
       Smith was the founder and chairman emeritus of Holland & 
     Knight LLP, the country's eighth largest law firm. During his 
     55 year career, Smith was a major force in American law and 
     politics, humbling the mightiest and giving a voice to the 
     common.
       Smith served as president of the American Bar Association 
     (ABA) from 1973-1974 and was best known as the daring leader 
     who made the first public call to investigate President 
     Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. His simple and 
     direct rationale: ``No man is above the law'' appeared on the 
     front page of major American newspapers following the 
     infamous Watergate ``Saturday Night Massacre,'' October 20, 
     1973.


                            America's Lawyer

       In a country that is cynical and, at times, even disdainful 
     of lawyers, Chesterfield Smith maintained a positive vision 
     of what lawyers could be, using his own success as an 
     example. He believed that lawyers must have an ``unselfish 
     involvement in essential public service'' and encouraged his 
     colleagues to ``be somebody'' in their communities.
       The word restraint had no place in Smith's life. Known for 
     his candid and sometimes brutally honest speeches, he loved 
     nothing more than giving a rousing speech to stir up 
     audiences.
       ``We are not a trade association. We are not a union,'' he 
     once told a group of law students about the ABA. ``We are out 
     to improve justice and its administration of society. If you 
     don't intend to work to improve the quality of justice, then 
     I hope you flunk your exams.''
       Smith grew up in Arcadia, a small town in central Florida. 
     He fought in World War II from 1940-1945, earning a Bronze 
     star. He graduated from the University of Florida Law School 
     in 1946.
       After graduation, Smith returned to Arcadia and soon joined 
     the firm of Treadwell and Treadwell. A year and a half later, 
     he joined the firm of Holland, Bevis and McRae in nearby 
     Bartow. He made partner in record time by capably 
     representing Florida's booming phosphate industry. His law 
     firm subsequently engineered a merger with the prominent 
     Tampa firm, Knight, Jones, Whitaker and Germany in 1968. The 
     new firm became Holland & Knight, named for founders of both 
     firms, and became a dominant firm in Florida.
       By 1965, Smith was fully immersed in the legal profession 
     and state politics. He was elected president of the Florida 
     Bar and chairman of the Florida Constitutional Revision 
     Commission. In the late 1960's, his work on the Commission 
     brought an end to the ``Pork Chop Gang,'' a group of powerful 
     rural Florida legislators who, for years, controlled the 
     state government by malapportionment.


                        The Voice of the People

       Chesterfield Smith served as president of the ABA during 
     one of the most turbulent and unsettling years in American 
     politics, 1973-1974. In the midst of the Watergate scandal, 
     Nixon and his advisors were convinced that they could avoid 
     handing over the Oval Office tapes and fire special 
     prosecutor Archibald Cox without public backlash. It would 
     take Smith's words, ``No man is above the law'', a large 
     voice from a significant source, to alter public discourse 
     towards impeachment.
       Amid the Controversy, Smith publicly urged Congress to re-
     estblish the office of special prosecutor. Undaunted by wide 
     criticism, he led the ABA in an effort to authorize an 
     independent counsel to investigate President Nixon. Another 
     former leader of the ABA, Leon Jaworski, was appointed. He 
     vigorously prosecuted the case against Nixon, culminating in 
     appeals to the Supreme Court. In the end, Nixon felt 
     compelled to resign.


                    Promoting Equal Justice for All

       Chesterfield Smith exhibited amazing clarity in a complex 
     era in the 1960's. With this clarity came the courage and 
     ability to recognize and embrace societal change. Unconcerned 
     about the contrary opinions of others, he often spoke out 
     against racial discrimination. And, despite growing up in the 
     segregationist South Smith was one of the first to recruit 
     minorities. Under his leadership, Holland & Knight became a 
     model of diversity.
       Chesterfield Smith strongly believed in the responsibility 
     of individuals to take action in the civic and charitable 
     life of their communities. Today his firm is recognized for 
     community service efforts and extensive pro-bono legal work.
       In 2002, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg 
     presented Smith with the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award in a 
     formal ceremony conducted in the Great Hall of the United 
     States Supreme Court.
       During the ceremony Ginsburg, praised his life-long 
     contributions to the legal profession and his leadership in 
     creating a firm dedicated to public service.
       ``He has devoted his extraordinary talent and enormous 
     energy to the improvement of the legal profession--to making 
     the profession more honorable, more responsive to the people 
     law and lawyers serve'' Ginsberg said. ``He is, in sum, among 
     the brightest, boldest, bravest, all-around most effective 
     lawyers ever bred in Florida and the USA.''
       He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Jacqueline Allee, 
     and two children, Chesterfield Jr. and daughter Rhoda Smith 
     Kibler, both of Tallahassee, Florida.

     

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