James D. St. Clair Honored

Discovering Justice: the James D. St. Clair Court Education Project, a non-profit organization based in the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse, celebrated the legacy of prominent Boston litigator James D. St. Clair with a reception on September 23, 2002. Discovering Justice, whose mission is to educate children and adults about the role of the justice system in American democracy, also unveiled its new web site (www.discoveringjustice.org) at the event.

 

Colleagues whose lives were touched by Mr. St. Clair spoke at the event. This included judges and lawyers who volunteer with Discovering Justice such as Jack Regan, partner at Hale and Dorr and board president of Discovering Justice; US District Court Judge Sandra Lynch, former president of the Boston Bar Association and former head of litigation at Foley Hoag; Jack Curtin, partner and former chairman of the Litigation Department at Bingham, McCutchen (formerly Bingham, Dana) and former president of the American Bar Association and William Lee, managing partner of Hale and Dorr. Lee, who was named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America, was mentored by Mr. St. Clair at Hale and Dorr.

 

The New York Times described St. Clair as a Boston trial lawyer who, in a career spanning half a century, “developed a reputation as a dignified, courteous and highly competent adviser to a wide range of clients who spanned the political spectrum.”

 

 

Believed to be the first program of its kind in the nation, Discovering Justice has created and implemented five innovative civic education models – curricula on laws, rules and justice being piloted in 61 elementary school classrooms; interactive plays about American history and Constitutional law performed in courtrooms across the state; a legal apprenticeship program engaging attorneys and judges as mentors for Boston public students; public lectures and courthouse tours. Hailed as a national model, Discovering Justice seeks to strengthen democracy by promoting engaged and enlightened citizenship. For more information please visit our web site at www.discoveringjustice.org.