State Bar of Arizona - History

History

The first Arizona wide bar association was created in 1895. In 1902, it led the rewriting of a civil code for the Territory and in 1904 strongly promoted the admission of Arizona as a state into the Union. In 1906 the Arizona Bar Association was first incorporated. In 1912 it adopted the ethical rules of the American Bar Association and began official admission procedures for law practice.

James M. Murphy, the 24th president of the State Bar of Arizona, recounted the founding of the Bar in a 1960 article for the Arizona Law Review:

"On the Glorious Feast of St. Patrick in the year 1933, the State Bar of Arizona was created as an integrated legal entity. By act of the Legislature the State Bar became a semi-public body, and membership in it was required for anyone who might practice law in Arizona."

The first organizational meeting of the State Bar was held in the Supreme Court Room in Phoenix on September 15, 1933. At that time there were about 600 lawyers in Arizona, exclusive of judges.

In 1948 the Bar established its first central office in Phoenix. The first Executive Director was hired in 1954. In 1955 the Board authorized the creation of sections in the State Bar organization for the benefit of members with a special interest in particular areas of the law.

In April 1961, the Bar published the first Bar Journal, an anthology of featured articles from 1940 to date. This publication has since evolved into Arizona Attorney magazine, which is published 11 times annually and has been nationally recognized as the premier large-bar publication in the country.

In 1988 the Bar opened a satellite office in Tucson, serving lawyers in Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirements were adopted in 1991. The 21st century ushered in a number of changes at the State Bar, including an electronic newsletter, eLegal, sent bimonthly to all members. The Bar purchased and moved into new headquarters in Phoenix and purchased a building for the Southern Regional Office in Tucson.

In 2012, the Bar’s total membership rose to more than 22,000, which includes out-of-state members.

State Bar of Arizona Historical Timeline 1933—The State Bar Act created the State Bar of Arizona as an integrated or "mandatory membership" organization to serve the legal profession and the public.
1936—Joseph C. Padilla becomes the first Hispanic lawyer in Arizona. 1948—Hayzel B. Daniels is the first African American to graduate from the University of Arizona Law School and be admitted to the State Bar of Arizona.
1950—The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the State Bar Act.
1951—Lorna Lockwood becomes the first woman Superior Court judge in Arizona.
1952—Mary Anne Richey becomes the first Deputy County Attorney in Pima County and goes on to become the first woman United States Attorney in the District of Arizona and Arizona’s first woman federal judge.
1961—Lorna Lockwood becomes the first woman Arizona Supreme Court Justice and goes on to become the first woman in the United States to be Chief Justice of a State Supreme Court.
1962—The Arizona Bar Journal debuts.
1966—In a landmark ruling the United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Arizonan Ernesto Miranda, ruling that his confession was not voluntarily given because he was not warned of this right to remain silent. Those warnings later become a cornerstone of criminal defense rights. Phoenix attorneys John P. Frank and John J. Flynn represent Miranda.
1971—President Richard Nixon nominates William H. Rehnquist, who practiced law in Phoenix from 1953 to 1969, to the United States Supreme Court. Rehnquist became Chief Justice in 1976.
1972—Rodney B. Lewis becomes the first Native American admitted to the State Bar of Arizona.
1973—Arizona Supreme Court adopts Rule 31, affirming its jurisdiction over the practice of law.
1977—President Jimmy Carter appoints Phoenix attorney Thomas Tang as the first Asian and Chinese American judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
1979—President Jimmy Carter appoints Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Valdemar Aguirre Cordova as the first Mexican American federal judge in the U.S. District of Arizona.
1980—Cecil B. Patterson, Jr. becomes the first black judge appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court. In September 1995 he became the first black judge appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One.
1981—President Ronald Reagan nominates Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to be the first woman justice to sit on the United States Supreme Court.
1983—Arizona Legislature “sunsets” the State Bar.
1991—Roxana C. Bacon becomes the first woman president of the State Bar of Arizona.
2002—In response to the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire in central Arizona, the State Bar coordinates a program in which volunteer attorneys provide free legal assistance for people directly affected by the fire.
2012—In conjunction with Univision, the Bar launches “Abodagos a su Lado”, a phone bank manned by volunteer lawyers to answer consumer legal questions for the Hispanic community.