[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S984-S985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 451--HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF RAWLE AND HENDERSON 
LLP, ON ITS 225TH ANNIVERSARY AND ON BEING RECOGNIZED AS THE OLDEST LAW 
            FIRM IN CONTINUOUS PRACTICE IN THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                              S. Res. 451

       Whereas the law firm of Rawle and Henderson LLP has 
     established and maintained a firm of national distinction 
     whose reputation is based upon the notable accomplishments of 
     its founders and its commitment to providing quality legal 
     services to its clients;
       Whereas Rawle and Henderson LLP celebrates 225 years of 
     legal service in 2008, initiated by 5 generations of a family 
     and expanded to over 100 attorneys in 8 offices and 5 states;
       Whereas Rawle and Henderson attorneys throughout the last 
     225 years have served both the civic and legal community in 
     the capacity of elected officials, as well as appointed and 
     elected judges on the Federal and State benches;
       Whereas William Rawle, who founded his practice in 
     Philadelphia in 1783, was inspired by the innovation of the 
     Revolutionary era and his notable contemporaries, such as 
     Benjamin Franklin;
       Whereas William Rawle actively participated in the 
     ideological revolution as well, serving as chancellor of the 
     Associated Members of the Bar of Philadelphia, and was 
     elected to the American Philosophical Society and helped 
     found the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts;
       Whereas William Rawle was made a Trustee by the University 
     of Pennsylvania in 1796, a position he served with ``zeal and 
     punctuality'';
       Whereas William Rawle's son, William Rawle, Jr., joined the 
     office in 1810, along with his brother William Henry, who 
     eventually assumed his father's position in the firm;
       Whereas William Henry Rawle received his degree from the 
     University of Pennsylvania, and published articles such as 
     the ``Practical Treatise on the Law of Covenants for Title'', 
     which was accepted as a legal authority throughout the Union 
     and in England;
       Whereas William Henry Rawle was also invited to speak to 
     the law department of his alma mater, the University of 
     Pennsylvania, and in 1884 he appeared before a joint session 
     of Congress to deliver a speech honoring Chief Justice John 
     Marshall;
       Whereas William Henry Rawle served as vice president of the 
     Law Association of Philadelphia, and was noted by George 
     Washington Biddle for his ``intellectual strength and 
     brilliancy of expression'';
       Whereas William Rawle's grandson Francis Rawle, the next 
     leader of the Rawle law offices, attended Harvard College, 
     began his law career in 1873, and was one of the founders of 
     the American Bar Association and its first secretary and 
     treasurer, later becoming its president in 1902;
       Whereas Francis Rawle was a prolific author who gained 
     national recognition with his revision of Bouvier's Law 
     Dictionary, the publication of which coincided with the 
     centennial of the Rawle firm in 1883, and he served as a 
     delegate from the American Bar Association to the London 
     Conference for Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations 
     in 1887;
       Whereas Colonel William Brooke Rawle, nephew of William 
     Henry, served his country with distinction during the Civil 
     War, entering the Union Army as Second Lieutenant, Third 
     Pennsylvania Cavalry, was commended by his cousin Francis 
     Rawle for his service, and went on to earn a master's degree 
     from the University of Pennsylvania in 1866 and to join the 
     family firm a year later, remaining the head of the office 
     until his death in 1915;
       Whereas Joseph W. Henderson joined the Rawle firm upon 
     graduation from Harvard Law School, expanding the firm's 
     reputation for legal excellence and eventually becoming a 
     partner in 1917;
       Whereas, in similar fashion to his colleagues, Joseph 
     Henderson reached a position of considerable power in the 
     Philadelphia Bar Association and became chairman of the 
     Association's Board of Governors in 1936;
       Whereas Joseph Henderson carried on the firm's tradition of 
     leadership upon the passing of Francis Rawle, and oversaw 2 
     other significant additions, George Brodhead and Tom Mount, 
     who worked in trusts and estates and the admiralty business, 
     respectively;
       Whereas Joseph Henderson continued to lead the firm with 
     landmark cases in the area of ship owner liability, arguing 
     many of them before the Supreme Court;
       Whereas the Rawle and Henderson firm has evolved into one 
     of the leading legal firms in the country, employing a 
     racially and socioeconomically diverse staff, and has a 
     number of attorneys honored as ``Super Lawyers'' in 
     Pennsylvania; and
       Whereas, supported upon the integrity of its founders and 
     the numerous accomplishments of the Rawle family and of 
     Joseph W. Henderson, the firm of Rawle and Henderson is 
     primed to extend its history and tradition of legal 
     innovation into a future of continued prominence: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the achievement of Rawle and Henderson LLP 
     on its 225th anniversary and on being recognized as the 
     oldest law firm in continuous practice in the United States; 
     and
       (2) salutes the profound legacy the attorneys of Rawle and 
     Henderson LLP have provided to the civic and legal community 
     of Pennsylvania and the Nation.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I seek recognition to congratulate the 
firm of Rawle and Henderson LLP on its 225th anniversary, and on being 
recognized as the oldest law firm in continuous practice in the U.S.
  Five generations of the Rawle family have established and maintained 
a firm that has expanded to over a hundred attorneys in eight offices 
and five States. Rawle and Henderson attorneys have served as elected 
officials in both the civic and legal community throughout the past 225 
years, and have served as appointed and elected judges on the Federal 
and State benches.
  Inspired by Benjamin Franklin's accomplishments, William Rawle 
founded his practice in Philadelphia in 1783. His two sons followed 
their father's example, joining the practice in 1810. Joseph W. 
Henderson, a graduate of Harvard Law School, joined the firm in 1917, 
expanding the firm's reputation for legal excellence, and arguing 
numerous landmark cases before the Supreme Court. The Rawle and 
Henderson firm continues to prosper in 2008, employing a

[[Page S985]]

racially and socioeconomically diverse staff.
  The exceptional individuals who have founded and expanded the Rawle 
and Henderson firm into the prestigious organization it is today should 
be honored for their achievements. Their service has greatly benefited 
the civic and legal community of Pennsylvania and the U.S. I am 
confident that the Rawle and Henderson firm will continue to match 
their predecessors' commendable accomplishments for years to come.

                          ____________________