Reginald Heber Smith (21 December 1889-23 October 1966), also known as Reg Smith, was an American lawyer. His book Justice and the Poor inspired the creation of

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

programmes throughout the United States. He was awarded the American Bar Association Medal in 1951.

Early life and education

Smith was born in Fall River to Emelius W. Smith and Emma Louisa Crocker. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1910 and his Bachelor of Laws from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1914.

Career

Smith was admitted to the

Massachusetts Bar The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association in Massachusetts with a headquarters on West Street in Boston, Boston's Downtown Crossing. The MBA also has a Western Massachusetts office. The purpose of the MB ...

in 1914 and became Chief Council of the Boston Legal Aid Society. In 1919 he became managing partner at

Hale and Dorr Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as WilmerHale, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston, it was fo ...

in Boston where he remained until 1956. His book ''Justice and the Poor'' was published in 1919. It argued that the lack of

equal justice Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the West Pediment, above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. It is also a societal ideal that has influenced Law of the United States, the American leg ...

undermined the social fabric and offered an agenda for action to provide legal aid. It is considered one of the most important books about the legal profession. The book was seminal for the provision of

in the United States. Smith is also credited as the inventor of the billable hour and other administrative innovations in the legal profession. Smith was member of the Committee on Legal Aid Work from 1921 to 1936. In 1927, he and Edmund Ruffin Beckwith founded the Conference on Consumer Finance Law. Smith served on the Board of Editors of the

American Bar Association Journal The ''ABA Journal'' (since 1984, formerly ''American Bar Association Journal'', 1915–1983, evolved from '' Annual Bulletin'', 1908–1914) is a monthly legal trade magazine and the flagship publication of the American Bar Association. It is n ...

from 1941 to 1954. He was member of the Board of Directors of the American Bar Association Endowment from 1942 to 1955. Smith was Director of the Survey of the Legal Profession and Fellow of the

American Bar Foundation The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is a nonprofit research institute established in 1952 and located in Chicago, United States. The American Bar Foundation is located in the same building as Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in do ...

Personal life

In 1914, Smith married Margaret Currier (1890-1980). They had two children, Reginald Herber Smith Jr. (1916-2013) and Francis Currier Smith (1917-2012).

Publications

* Justice and the Poor, ''A study of the present denial of justice to the poor and of the agencies, making more equal their position before the law'' (1919), Charles Scribner`s Sons, New York * ''Growth of Legal Aid Work in the United States'' (1925),

U.S. Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...

* ''Law Office Organization'' (1940), American Bar Association Journal, vol. 26 nos 5, 6, 7 and 8

Awards

* American Bar Association Medal (1951)

Legacy

Reginald Heber Smith Medal

The

National Legal Aid & Defender Association The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans and was established in 1911. History The Fourteenth Amendment to ...

established in 1957 the Reginald Heber Smith Medal, awarded annually for outstanding services to legal aid. Recipients of th medal include: * Lou Frost (1975) * Charles Henry Dorsey Jr. * Lou Frost (1975) (1982) *

Charles Gessler Charles Addison Gessler (May 26, 1933 – April 27, 2019) was an American criminal defense attorney who specialized in death penalty litigation. Gessler worked as a deputy public defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender's office for thir ...

(2003) *

Jeff Adachi Jeffrey Gordon Adachi (August 29, 1959 – February 22, 2019) was an American attorney, pension reform advocate, and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019. Early life and education Adachi was the ...

(2012)

Reginald Heber Smith Fellowships

The Office of Legal Services through its Office of Economic Opportunities, established in 1967 the Reginald Heber Smith Fellowships Program through which the best students were recruited to provide legal services to the poor. The program, from the 1970 administered by the Legal Service Corporation, was active until 1985. Between 1967 and 1985 approximately 2000 beginning lawyers, called ''Reggies'', were endowed with the fellowship.

References

{{Authority control Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partners 20th-century American lawyers Massachusetts lawyers 1889 births 1966 deaths People from Fall River, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni