Finding aid for the Cleveland Bar Association Records, Series II


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Cleveland Bar Association
Title: Cleveland Bar Association Records, Series II
Dates: 1937-1983
Extent: 25.20 linear feet (36 containers and 11 oversize volumes)
Abstract: The Cleveland Bar Assocaition (f. 1873) is an organization of of Cleveland, Ohio, lawyers whose purpose is to maintain the honor and dignity of the law profession and promote legal and judicial reform. Operating via a series of committees, the association over the years has investigated misconduct by lawyers, judges, sheriffs, and police, which has resulted in resignations and/or disbarment. The collection consists of minutes, agendas, financial materials, correspondence, memoranda, directories, records of the Court Management Project, a subject file, scrapbooks and issues of the Cleveland Bar Association journal. The collection is useful for understanding the activities and interests of the association, including the Court Management Project, 1970-76, which explored judicial reform in Cuyahoga County courts, and illuminates some of the controversy which surrounded the "deregulation" of the profession, such as the advertising of legal services.
MS Number MS 4332
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Cleveland Bar Assocaition

The Cleveland Bar Association was founded at a meeting of fifty-three lawyers on March 22, 1873, in the Law Library Room of the Cleveland Court House. The purpose of the Association was "to maintain the honor and dignity of the Profession of the Law; to cultivate social intercourse and acquaintance among members of the Bar, and to increase their usefulness in aiding the administration of justice, and in promoting legal and judicial reform."

The Bar immediately began to act on these responsibilities; one of its first resolutions called for the resignation of a federal judge due to his alleged lack of integrity. The Cleveland Bar Association was instrumental in the formation of the Ohio State Bar and of the American Bar Association. Shortly after the turn of the century, the Association issued a call for the establishment of a Municipal Court and began discussing the possibilities of endorsing candidates for the bench.

It was not until 1922 that the Association actually began to endorse individual candidates but, from that time, the "bar slate" began receiving extensive publicity in the press. On occasion, the press coverage was uncomplimentary; many felt that the lawyers of the city were apt to choose candidates more on the basis of the lawyers' success in the courtroom than on grounds of proper judicial qualifications. Nevertheless, the Bar persisted and each year, after a carefully administered membership poll, continued to announce a list of "preferred" candidates.

Over the years, the Association has often come to the aid of those whose civil rights were endangered or violated. The first example of this occurred in 1925; seeking a suspect in a murder case who had been described as Chinese, the Cleveland police arrested, fingerprinted and detained almost the entire male Chinese population of the city. The Bar was quick to protest and, eventually, extracted a pro forma apology from the city. Perhaps the most widely publicized example was the defense, in 1955, of eleven Cleveland residents indicted as "subversives" under the Smith Act.

From the original founding group, the Cleveland Bar Association has grown to over thirty-six hundred members in its centennial year. Among the many prominent citizens of the Greater Cleveland area who have been enrolled in the Cleveland Bar Association are: Florence E. Allen, Newton D. Baker, Luther Day, Mary B. Grossman, Frank A. Quail, and Lillian Westropp.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland Bar Association


Scope and Content

The Cleveland Bar Association Records, Series II, 1937-1983 and undated, consist of minutes, agendas, financial materials, correspondence, memoranda, Cleveland Bar Association Journals, directories, records of the Court Management Project, a subject file, and scrapbooks.

This collection is useful to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and lawyers and the law there in the twentieth century. This collection will also be useful for understanding the activities and interests of the Cleveland Bar Association. This included the Court Management Project, a 1970-1976 project devoted to judicial reform in Cuyahoga County. The collection also illuminates some of the controversy which surrounded the "deregulation" of the Bar, such as the advertising of legal services.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.
Series I: Administrative Files is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series I includes the Court Management Project files.
Series II: Subject Files is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series III: Scrapbooks is arranged chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 3572 Cleveland Bar Association Records; MS 4400 Cleveland Bar Association Records, Series III; and PG 423 Cleveland Bar Association Records Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland Bar Association -- Archives.
Court administration -- Ohio -- Cuyahoga County.
Justice, Administration of -- Ohio -- Cuyahoga County.
Lawyers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4332 Cleveland Bar Association Records, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Cleveland Bar Association, 1982, 1984, and 1985.

Processing Information

Processed by Richard Hite and Daniel Linke in 1989.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Administrative Files 1937-1977 undated

Box Folder
1 1-17 Board of Trustees meeting materials including agendas, minutes, financial reports, committee reports, correspondence, and resolutions February 1969-January 1972
Box Folder
2 18-30 Board of Trustees meeting materials including agendas, minutes, financial reports, committee reports, correspondence, and resolutions February 1972-December 1974
2 31-33 Board of Trustees minutes, (reverse chronological order) 1968-1977
Box Folder
3 34-51 Executive Committee meeting materials including minutes, financial reports, correspondence, and memoranda January 1951-February 1955
Box Folder
4 52-67 Executive Committee meeting materials including minutes, financial reports, correspondence, and memoranda March 1955-April 1958
Box Folder
5 68-83 Executive Committee meeting materials including minutes, financial reports, correspondence, and memoranda May 1958-December 1962
Box Folder
6 84-99 Executive Committee meeting materials including minutes, financial reports, correspondence, and memoranda January 1963-April 1969
6 99 Miscellaneous executive committee materials 1969-1970
6 100 Executive Committee minutes (reverse chronological order) 1959-1964
Box Folder
7 101-113 Executive Committee miscellaneous, including minutes, correspondence, financial materials, memoranda, and reports (reverse chronological order) 1959-1968
7 114-116 Annual Directories and Lawyers' Desk Book and Rosters 1971-1985 undated
Box Folder
8 117-127 Annual Directories and Lawyers' Desk Book and Rosters 1971-1985 undated
8 128-131 The Cleveland Bar Association Journal October 1937-1943
Box Folder
9 132-155 The Cleveland Bar Association Journal 1944-1974
Box Folder
10 156-161 The Cleveland Bar Association Journal 1975-1977
10 162-163 Court Management Project, Interim Report to the Court Management Project Committee Executive Board 1970
10 164 Court Management Project, Progress Report for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration 1971
10 165-166 Court Management Project, Progress Report 1970-1971
10 167-168 Court Management Project, Operating Manual 1971
10 169 Court Management Project, Personnel Administration Manual 1971
10 170 Court Management Project, Report Summary, Personnel Systems for the Cleveland Municipal Court 1971
10 170 Court Management Project, Remarks by Alan D. Wright, Director, Administration of Justice Committee 1971
10 171 Court Management Project, Progress Report 1971-1972
10 172 Court Management Project, A Report to the Court Management Project on Right to Counsel in Misdemeanor Cases in Cuyahoga County 1972
10 172 Court Management Project, Data Processing Survey of the Court of Domestic Relations 1973
10 173 Court Management Project, Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court: System Description 1973
10 174 Court Management Project, Personnel Administration Manual for the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court 1973
10 174 Court Management Project, Final Report on A Personnel System for the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court 1973
10 174 Court Management Project, Predicting Defendant Appearance: A Statistical Analysis of Bail Procedures 1973
10 175 Court Management Project, Progress Report, October 1972-1973
10 175 Court Management Project, Juvenile Court Information System, Present System Documentation 1974
10 176 Court Management Project, Juvenile Court Information System, Management Summary 1974
10 177 Court Management Project, Juvenile Court Information System, Conceptual Design 1974
10 178 Court Management Project, Final Report on the Feasibility of Automating the Operations of the Court of Common Pleas Arbitration Department 1974
10 179 Court Management Project, A Review of the Use of IMS Within the Judicial Information System 1974
10 180 Court Management Project, Progress Report 1974
Box Folder
11 181 Court Management Project, Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, Word Processing Recommendations 1975
11 182 Court Management Project, Word Processing Study for the Cuyahoga County Court System, Final Report 1975
11 183-185 Court Management Project, County of Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Court Division, Juvenile Court Information System Overview 1975
11 186 Court Management Project, Judicial Records Management: An Analysis of Current Practices and Procedures and Suggestions for Improvement 1975
11 187 Court Management Project, Progress Report 1975
11 188 Court Management Project, County of Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Court Division, Family Index Procedures 1976
11 189 Court Management Project, Suburban Municipal Courts of Cuyahoga County, Conceptual Design of the Suburban Municipal Courts Information System 1976
11 190 Court Management Project, Conceptual Design of the Suburban Municipal System 1976
11 191 Court Management Project, Public/Human Relations Participant's Manual 1976
11 191 Court Management Project, Consultant Management for Justice Agencies 1976
11 192 Court Management Project, Probation Management Information System Conceptual Design 1976
11 193 Court Management Project, Project Management for Justice Agencies 1976
11 193 Court Management Project, Procedural Analysis/Documentation Management 1976
11 194 Court Management Project, Analysis of the Training Needs of Cuyahoga County, Court Support Personnel undated
11 195 Court Management Project, A Jury Study and Management Program undated
11 195 Court Management Project, Sheriff's Information System Alternate Data Base Design Concept undated
11 195 Court Management Project, Reference Manual, A Compilation of Data-Gathering in the Trial Courts of Cuyahoga County undated
11 196-198 Court Management Project, Applied Management Systems, Inc., Systems and Computers Participant's Manual undated
11 199-201 Court Management Project, Systems and Computers undated
Box Folder
12 202-203 Court Statistics (reverse chronological order) 1955-1959
12 204 Newspaper clippings 1960-1972

Series II: Subject Files 1949-1979 undated

Box Folder
12 205-207 Administration of Justice Committee, Historical File and Law In Urban Affairs Committee 1972-1975
12 208 Administrative Law Committee 1973-1975
12 209-211 American Bar Association Midwinter Meeting 1973 1978-1979
12 212 American Field Service (Law Day) 1968-1976
12 212 Amicus Briefs undated
12 212 Apanites Incident 1969-1975
12 213 Arbitration of Fee Disputes 1966-1974
12 214 Atwood Conference 1970-1971
12 214 Automobile Accident Compensation Committee, Historical File 1967 1976
12 215 Awards File 1975-1976
12 215 Bankruptcy Court Committee 1970-1977
12 216 Bar Applicants, listing those that passed 1975-1976
12 216 Bar Office Management 1971-1975
12 216 Bar Office Briefing Session 1975-1976
12 217 Bar Press Relations Committee 1965-1975
12 218 Basics 1974
12 218 Black Lawyers File 1970
12 218 Board of Trustees 1974-1975
Box Folder
13 219 Bogomolny, Robert L. 1977
13 219 British Visitation Program 1978
13 219 Burger, Chief Justice Warren 1976
13 219 Call for Action 1975
13 220 Citizens Bar Association 1974-1975
13 220 Citizens Committee on the Selection of Judges 1965
13 221-222 Civil Disorders 1969-1970
13 223 Cleveland Bar Foundation 1969-1971
13 224 Cleveland State University 1973-1979
13 224 Cleveland World Trade Association 1978-1979
13 224 Cleveland Women Lawyers Association 1973
13 224 Client Credit Card Service 1975-1976
13 224 Columbus Bar Association 1978-1979
13 225-227 Committees 1968-1978
13 228-230 Common Pleas Court 1964-1976
13 231 Community Race Relations 1968
13 231 Computer Book 1976
13 232-233 Constitution 1964-1971
13 234-235 Continuing Legal Education 1961-1978
Box Folder
14 236 Continuing Legal Education 1973-1978
14 237 Corporate Law Committee 1971
14 237 Corporation, Banking, and Business Law 1973-1976
14 237 County Commissioner 1977-1978
14 238-243 Court Management Project Committee 1969-1976
14 244 Criminal Law 1975-1976
14 244 Criminal Law Mock Trial 1973
14 244 Criminal Law Workshop 1972
14 245 Criminal Court File 1969-1976
14 246-247 Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee 1974-1977
14 248 Criminal Justice Public Information Center Project Awareness 1975-1979
14 249 Cuyahoga County Bar Association 1978-1979
14 249 Davis, James C. 1967-1968
14 249 Dean, John Ladd undated
14 249 Democratic Institutions 1970-1971
14 249 Desegregation (Judge Battisti) 1978
14 249 Disciplinary Counsel 1978
14 250-251 Domestic Relations Committee 1970-1976
Box Folder
15 252 Domestic Relations Research 1970-1971
15 253 Drug Education Workshop for Lawyers 1972
15 253 Editorial Committee 1968-1975
15 253 Explorer's Post File 1973
15 253 Federal Bar Association 1971-1972
15 254 Federal Court Committee 1968-1975
15 254 Federal Tax Committee 1964-1973
15 255 Financing 1972-1974
15 256 Fine Arts Committee 1973-1975
15 256 Forward 1973-1975
15 257 General Tax Committee 1968-1975
15 258 Greater Cleveland Bar Fund Committee 1973-1976
15 258 Group Travel Committee 1974-1977
15 259-260 Group Legal Services 1969-1970
15 261 Group Legal Practice Service 1972
15 261 Group and Prepaid Legal Services 1973
15 262-263 Group and Prepaid Legal Services Committee 1973-1976
15 264-265 Gun Control 1968 1975-1979
15 266-267 Historical Committee, Bar Records 1958-1975
15 268 Individual Rights and Responsibilities 1972-1973
15 269 Insurance Committee 1969-1975 undated
Box Folder
16 270-272 Insurance Committee 1969-1975 undated
16 273 International Law 1967
16 273 Intellectual Property Law Committee 1975-1976
16 273 International Women's Year 1975
16 273 John Carroll University 1976
16 273 Journal Layout 1978
16 273 Journal Staff Committee 1969
16 274-275 Judicial Benefits, Selection, and Social Committee 1964-1965 1972-1977
16 276 Judicial Selection (the O'Neill proposal) 1978
16 277 Jury Facilities 1974
16 278-279 Justice Center 1974-1976
16 280-284 Juvenile Court Committee 1960-1975
16 285 Kamm, Herb, Cleveland Press Associate Editor 1978
16 285 Kent State University 1971
16 285 Labor Arbitration Seminar 1972
16 285 Labor Law Committee 1972-1975
16 286-287 Law Day 1969-1977
Box Folder
17 288-295 Law in Urban Affairs Committee 1969-1976
17 296 Law for Laymen 1970
17 296 Law Lists and other special lists, and Law Office Economics Committee 1967-1977
17 297-298 Law School Issues 1969-1974
17 299 Lawyer Advertising 1977
17 300-301 Lawyers' Club Committee 1971-1974
17 300-301 Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Lawyers Competency File 1978
17 300-301 Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers 1978
17 302-303 Lawyers for Housing 1972-1973
Box Folder
18 304-306 Lawyers for Housing 1972-1973
18 307 Lawyer to Lawyer Consultation 1978
18 307 Lawyer's Political Action Committee 1978
18 307 Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance 1978
18 307 Lawyer(s) Referral Service 1977
18 308-317 Legal Aid 1960-1978
18 318 Legal Assistants 1975-1976
Box Folder
19 319 Legal Education Committee 1960-1967
19 319 Legal Fee Finance Plan 1968-1969
19 320 Legal-Medical Committee 1961-1975
19 321-323 Legislative Committee 1960-1977
19 324 Life Insurance 1960-1967
19 325 Local Bar Association Officers undated
19 325 Luncheon Lecture Series 1971-1973
19 326 McCreary, Robert G., Jr. 1974
19 326 Mack v. Trustees 1977
19 326 McMonagle Contempt Citation 1971
19 326 Management Wages Institute 1965
19 326 Mayor's Courts 1972
19 326 Medical Insurance 1960-1962
19 327-329 Membership Committee 1959-1975
19 330 Merger Committee 1970-1971
19 331-332 Minimum Fee Schedule 1961-1971
19 333 Modern Courts Committee 1978
19 333 Moot Court Competition 1975
19 334-336 Municipal Court Committee 1960-1976
Box Folder
20 337-338 Municipal Court Committee 1960-1976
20 339 National Association of Bar Executives 1979
20 339 Nahra-Stokes-Corrigan 1969-1970
20 340-343 News Releases 1968-1979
20 344-345 No Fault Insurance 1973
20 344-345 Nominating Committee 1959-1977
20 346-348 Notary Public Committee 1959-1977
20 349-350 Notices for Activities, including the 100th Anniversary of the Bar 1963-1970
20 351 Office Management Constitution 1959-1960
20 351 Ohio Bar 1968 1971-1974
20 352 Ohio Metropolitan Bars Group 1972 1977
20 352 "Old Bailey" Dinner-Dance 1973-1974
20 352 Para-Legal File 1972-1973
20 352 Part Time Practice, Ad Hoc Committee 1962-1963
20 352 Patent Law Committee 1974-1975
20 352 Pensions for Lawyers and Incorporation Committee 1961
20 353 Pictorial Register 1973-1977
20 353 Police-Community 1968
20 353 Prepaid Legal Help 1972-1974
20 353 Pre-Trial Release Program 1976
Box Folder
21 354-356 Probate Court Committee 1960-1975
21 357-358 Products Liability Insurance 1964
21 357-358 Professional Trends 1977
21 357-358 Program Committee 1949-1976
21 359-360 Psychopathic Offenders Committee 1971-1972
21 359-360 Public Defenders Office 1967 1976-1977
21 361 Public Relations Committee 1973-1975
21 361 Quarterly Reports 1969-1970
21 362 Real Estate Law Committee 1972-1975
21 362 Regional Tax Institutes 1960-1968
21 362 Registration of Law Students, Joint Committee 1963
21 362 Regulation of Group Legal Services 1977
21 362 Reports of the Various Committees 1975-1976
21 362 Rose, H. Chapman 1969
21 362 Rule XXVII, Revision 1960-1961
21 362 Rutkowski, Raymond A. 1969-1971
21 363 Scandinavian Delegation 1973
21 363 Second Century Committee 1973-1975
21 363 Section By-Laws undated
21 363 Securities Law Committee 1972-1977
21 363 Securities Law Institute 1972
21 363 Shibley for Ohio Bar 1973-1976
21 363 Smathus-Keogh-Simpson Bill 1961
21 363 Smith Act Foundation 1955-1957
21 363 Statewide Numbering System 1972
21 363 Stewart, Lawrence E. 1977
21 364 Suburban Sections 1973-1976
21 364 Summons Demonstration Project 1969
21 364 Superior Court Committee 1961-1964
21 364 Survey 1976
21 364 Taft-Hartley Defense Committee 1957
21 365 Tax Committee 1967-1968
21 365 Tax Institute 1969-1972
21 365 Testimonial Luncheon 1974
21 365 Town Meeting 1974
21 366 Treasurer's Reports 1959-1969
21 367-369 Trial Advocacy Institute 1971-1977
21 367-369 Unauthorized Practice of Law 1962-1967 1973-1976
Box Folder
22 370 Viet Nam Resolution 1970
22 370 Walter, Paul 1973-1974
22 371 Warren Conference 1972
22 371 Weston, S. Burns 1968
22 372 Young Lawyers Committee 1967-1977
22 373 "Your Day In Court" Project 1977
22 373 Miscellaneous 1978

Series III: Scrapbooks 1968-1983

Box
23 Scrapbook 1968-1971
Box
24 Scrapbook April 1973-June 1975
Box
25 Scrapbook June 1975-February 1976
Box
26 Scrapbooks February 1976-February 1977
Box
27 Scrapbook February-November 1977
Box
28 Scrapbook November 1977-February 1978
Box
29 Scrapbook February-April 1978
Box
30 Scrapbook April-May 1978
Box
31 Scrapbook May 1978
Box
32 Scrapbook May-July 1978
Box
33 Scrapbook July-August 1978
Box
34 Scrapbooks August-December 1978
Box
35 Scrapbook October 1978-January 1979
Box
36 Scrapbooks January-July 1979
Volume
1 Scrapbook March-July 1979
Volume
2 Scrapbook July-November 1979
Volume
3 Scrapbook November 1979-March 1980
Volume
4 Scrapbook March-August 1980
Volume
5 Scrapbook August 1980-March 1981
Volume
6 Scrapbook February-October 1981
Volume
7 Scrapbook October 1981-April 1982
Volume
8 Scrapbook April-November 1982
Volume
9 Scrapbook November 1982-April 1983
Volume
10 Scrapbook April-November 1983