Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – Maurice Mitchell is the “Godfather” of Arkansas’s legal profession. He is also one of the best human beings I have ever known. His work ethic is second to none and his civic and charitable leadership sets the highest standard. I take every opportunity I can to learn from him.
During the 1957 Central High integration crisis and the subsequent closing of the Little Rock public high schools, Maurice, then in his 30’s and along with a small group of other talented young lawyers, was a voice of reason. Last night, for what may have been the first time, he shared his 1954-1959 experiences with his Mitchell Law Firm colleagues and friends. You could have heard a pin drop when he described the behind-the-scenes accounts of what was happening in the Little Rock business and legal communities. Because he was in strong opposition to the segregationists, he lost clients and received personal threats. Neither, however, deterred him or his wife, Betty, who joined the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) and was among the courageous group of women who led the successful effort to reopen the schools.
Dean Chuck Goldner of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law was among those in attendance. Like me, Dean Goldner was in awe. We all heard stories we had never heard before. Based on the conversation that later took place between Maurice and Dean Goldner, I believe a law review article is in the works. It should be.
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