president’s message
The Atlanta Bar Association's 125th Year:
Time to Celebrate
By Wade H. Watson III
Caldwell & Watson LLP
[email protected]
T
he 125th year of the Atlanta Bar Association began on
April 28, 2013, marking the anniversary of the founding
of our organization in 1888. We are celebrating this
year in fine fashion with a luncheon on February 25, 2014
at the Piedmont Driving Club. The guest speaker will be
William Hubbard, the President-Elect of the American Bar
Association. He will be introduced by former ABA President,
William “Bill” Ide, who was recognized with the Rule of Law
Champion Award by the ABA last year for his
work in promoting the rule of law throughout
the world.
started in 1802. Savannah, which is the oldest city in our state
(1733), did not form its bar association until 1917. Augusta
dates its bar association to 1895.
Thus, we can take pride in the fact that our bar association is a
democratic institution of long standing. This is an achievement
that we should not take for granted. We share a long legacy
of devotion to the public good, promotion of the growth and
"We celebrate because we need
to do it, to remember who we are,
and to prepare for that which we
may yet become."
One of the features of our association is that it is
a democratic institution. It is democratic in the
sense that our members select our leadership
through election of those willing to serve. It is
also democratic in the sense that it is made up
of officers of the Court who have as one of their
objectives the preservation of an independent
judiciary, an essential branch of government.
Thus, while we are not part of the government,
we are a democratic institution that supports
the rule of law that is essential to governing a free people.
There are now approximately 195 countries recognized in
the world. Some of them, of course, are quite old, dating
back thousands of years. Most of them, however, are much
younger. By my count approximately 107 of the countries
presently in the world were formed after 1888. This means
that the Atlanta Bar Association is older than approximately
55 percent of the countries in the world—well over half.
Atlanta is a relatively young city (incorporated 1847), but you
may be surprised to learn that our bar association is among
the oldest in the United States. The American Bar Association
was not founded until 1878, pre-dating our formation by only
ten years. Boston’s bar association incorporated in 1861, New
York City’s association formed in 1870, Washington D.C.’s
started in 1871, and Chicago’s began in 1874. Philadelphia,
which claims to have the country’s oldest bar association,
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THE ATLANTA LAWYER
January/February 2014
development of our city, and continued commitment to the
rule of law. It is good and right that we should pause in the
midst of our very busy and seemingly important endeavors
to celebrate our beginnings, to remember from whence we
came, and to marvel that our enterprise has so long endured.
It is in this way that we can hope to continue the best that is
within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Continuity with
the past is a necessity, not a duty.” We celebrate because
we need to do it, to remember who we are, and to prepare
for that which we may yet become.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association