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Traffic Law Center
Distance: 14.4 Mi1610 Des Peres Rd
63131 Des Peres
Website Links
Description
St. Louis was a burgeoning town in 1874. River and rail traffic were growing, and St. Louis, the gateway to the west, was a focal point. With commerce and industry came lawyers. But problems plagued the profession: standards for admission to the Bar were virtually nonexistent; the ethics of some attorneys were questionable, and judgeships were politically determined. To such concerns and others, the Bar Association turned its attention. Two of the Association's early presidents--James O. Broadhead and Henry Hitchcock--met with other lawyers in Saratoga, New York, in 1878 and founded the American Bar Association (ABA). Broadhead became the first president of the ABA; Hitchcock was its 12th in 1889. Five other presidents of The St. Louis Bar Association have headed the ABA: James Hagerman (1903); Fredrick W. Lehman (1908); Guy A. Thompson (1931); Jacob M. Lashly (1940) and John Shepherd (1986). Few other cities have contributed so many presidents to the national body...