[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1610-E1611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING CHESTERFIELD SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM DAVIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Chesterfield 
Smith, a man of the highest principle, who in his long legal career has 
touched the lives of countless Floridians and left his mark on our 
state's and Nation's legal system.
  After receiving a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in World War II, 
Chesterfield returned to Florida to study law. He quickly rose to 
partner of Holland, Bevis and McRae and helped lead the firm through a 
successful merger with Knight, Jones, Whitaker and Germany in 1968. 
Under his watch, Holland & Knight LLP grew to become the Nation's 
eighth largest law firm.
  Chesterfield had a passion for his work. Whether his client was rich 
or poor, as partner of Holland & Knight, he worked long hours fighting 
for justice with irrepressible conviction. Born and bred in a 
segregated society, Chesterfield was a leader in integrating the legal 
profession by hiring women and minorities.
  In addition, Chesterfield, who strongly believed in the need to give 
back to one's community, pushed to incorporate pro bono work as regular 
practice for attorneys. Donating

[[Page E1611]]

countless hours of service to Floridians in need helped earn him the 
nickname ``Citizen Smith,'' as well as the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono 
Award, which was presented to him in 2002 by Supreme Court Justice Ruth 
Bader Ginsberg.
  Chesterfield also served as president of the Florida Bar Association 
and chair of the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, which 
drafted what became the new state Constitution of 1968. In 1997, former 
Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet, recognizing this work, named 
Chesterfield Smith one of the state's ``Great Floridians.''
  However, Chesterfield may best be remembered for his service as 
president of the American Bar Association. Shortly after Chesterfield 
took the helm of the ABA in 1973, President Nixon dramatically fired 
special prosecutor Archibald Cox, assigned to investigate the Watergate 
scandal. The next day, Chesterfield became one of the first national 
leaders to publicly call for the President's resignation. In an ABA 
statement Chesterfield stated, ``No man is above the law,'' and bravely 
refused to back down from the legal principles that he so cherished.
  I am proud to have called Chesterfield a friend. I believe Justice 
Ginsberg said it well when she described Chesterfield as ``among the 
brightest, boldest, bravest, all-around most effective lawyers ever 
bred in Florida and the USA.'' Chesterfield was a wonderful person.
  On behalf of the Tampa Bay community, I would like to extend my 
deepest sympathies to Chesterfield's family. The people of Florida and 
of the Nation will always remember his enormous contributions.

                          ____________________