A complex golden age: ‘Lawyers of Los Angeles: 1950-2020’

For those of us part of the legal culture of California, and Los Angeles legal culture in particular, there is no better guide to our past than Kathleen Tuttle's recently published "Lawyers of Los Angeles: 1950-2020." A demonstration of Emerson's saying "there is no history, only biography" the book is a huge service to the legal profession and to Los Angeles. For complex reasons it should be on the shelf of every lawyer not just in Los Angeles, but in California and every law firm with an interest in the law of California or thinking of establishing a practice in California.

The book, published by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, results from thousands of hours of interviews by Tuttle with hundreds of lawyers in Los Angeles, most of whom lived the history or heard about it directly from those who did. As we face unprecedented challenges in 2021, it is specially relevant recounting how through individual courage and institutional adaption Los Angeles legal culture met the challenges it faced over half a century of tumultuous change.

Tuttle's book begins with a chapter on early twentieth century places, people and events, setting the stage for the middle of the twentieth century when California, following massive federal investment in military manufacturing in WW II, was well on its way to becoming the most populous state in country. But the postwar economy was not matched by an existing legal industry structure.

Los Angeles and California as a whole in mid-twentieth century were legal outposts. The largest firms had 30 or 40 lawyers. Their subsequent growth was driven by enormous population growth. In 1960 the population of California was 15 million and there were about 30,000 lawyers, one for every 500 residents. Today the population of California is 40 million, with about 200,000 lawyers, one for every 200 residents, two and a half times the number of lawyers per capita.

How lawyers and legal institutions in Los Angeles, especially the Los Angeles County Bar Association, managed that growth and demographic challenge is a critical part of the book. The Los Angeles firms with twenty to forty lawyers grew to international powerhouses with over a thousand lawyers, competing in size, respect and profitability with established New York and Magic Circle London firms. New Los Angeles firms that didn't exist at mid-century became among the leading firms. in the world. The California and Los Angeles law firms far from being practice outposts not only grew in size. They have become world leaders in the areas driving much of modern world, technology and entertainment. The prominence and growth of particular legal practices and the lawyers who led them are chronicled extensively in several chapters of the book.

But golden ages are not all golden. The book also tells the stories of how along with managing and succeeding in that growth Los Angeles legal institutions, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association dealt with religious, racial, and gender exclusions, not only in the legal profession but in other areas shaping Los Angeles life. For most of the twentieth century Los Angeles law firms were basically religiously segregated, and religious segregation was mirrored in the other legal and community organizations. Courageous lawyers who were on opposite sides of litigated cases nevertheless worked together to end that segregation, and continued to work on ending exclusions based on race and gender. The book candidly memorializes their battles, successes, failures and ongoing current issues.

The book develops the difficulties and then successes, still challenging, in access to justice. In mid-century legal aid organizations were often afterthoughts. Much of the organized bar was opposed to the Office of Economic Opportunity, widely known as the war on poverty, in the 1960s funding legal service organizations. Issues around access to justice were largely discussed in an academic context. Once again the book documents how significant leadership by a few individuals and bar associations led to the establishment of major legal service organizations. From mid-twentieth century to today issues of pro bono representation and support of legal services have become a major part of law firm success. Lawyers in 1950 would have been astonished to learn that in 2020 a firm's commitment to pro bono support and opportunities are a critical part of its attractiveness in recruiting the best law students.

Books like this are often just curated pleasant memories, evidence we sometimes imagine the past and remember the future. That is not this book. Lawyers of Los Angeles: 1950-2020 is the best kind of memory. Candid as well as celebratory, it tells of challenges and failures as well as successes. By telling the stories of individuals overcoming obstacles and leading change it turns memory to experience. Kathleen Tuttle and the L.A. County Bar deserve great credit for the choices they made in this book. It should be owned and read by all. 

Lawyers of Los Angeles: 1950-2020 can be purchased through the Los Angeles County Bar.