Law Training Valuable in Politics, Saltonstall Advises Future Attorneys

Legal training helps the politician and thus the public he serves, Leverett Saltonstall '14 told an audience at the School For Young Lawyers Thursday night.

Saltonstall, United States Senator and former Governor of Massachusetts, speaking on the "Lawyer in Politics" at Langdell Hall, said the public is benefitted because the man who has studied law has a knowledge of the constitution and can therefore make the legislative bodies adhere more strictly to its rules, rather than letting the courts bear the whole burden of upholding it.

"It is proper to pass a law if its constitutionality is in doubt," he said, "but it is improper, even if the bill is a desirable one, to pass it if it is unconstitutional."

Saltonstall pointed out that a lawyer is better able to interpret statutes, and through his practice has a broader range of experience than other people. The lawyer gains the confidence of the less educated people, too, he continued.

Legal training also helps the politician himself by training him in debate and lobbying, according to Saltonstall, teaching him the lawmaking process, and giving him a knowledge of people and their problems.

Gallagher Talks

Harold J. Gallagher '17, president of the American Bar Association, closed the two-day session of the Young Lawyers School last night with a speech on the lawyer's debt to his profession.

Gallagher stressed the necessity for organization in the profession and a spirit of public service among its members. Lawyers, he stated, are engaged in helping the public service and therefore need to have such a spirit.