Dear Editor:

Of all the previous issue of the Journal, the May-June issue was one of the best.

“Pursuing Perfection in the Practice of Law” by Glenn Bradford reminds us of the difference between “healthy” practice of law and “unhealthy perfectionism,” something that all attorneys need to ponder.

The 1951 speech by former Missouri Bar President Walter Raymond reminds us of our obligations in the practice of law, that attorneys are in fact a friend of the poor and weak and we must always consider defending the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.

My late father (Homer D. Wampler, Jr.) was a practicing attorney in Springfield, Missouri (1938 – 1999). As a small boy in the 1940s he introduced me to all of the attorneys in Springfield, Missouri, as I reminisce, many of those senior attorneys started practicing law around the turn of the century. Things were so simple then, with electric light bulbs and the chain pull switches, manual typewriters and carbon paper. Local attorneys would walk from the only downtown office building six blocks to the courthouse.

I now regret that I didn’t speak with them further to learn more of their beliefs and concepts about the administration of justice and the practice of law. They were all honorable and hard-working attorneys. In that regard I recommend that in future issues you continue to print the speeches of previous attorneys and bar leaders. We need to be reminded of those times gone by and the values that made them great attorneys. It will help us, in turn, to improve our lives and professionalism.

Sincerely yours,

Dee Wampler
Springfield