Abe Fortas - Private Practice

Private Practice

After leaving government service, Fortas founded a law firm with Thurman Arnold in 1946, then known as Arnold & Fortas. Former FCC commissioner Paul A. Porter joined the firm in 1947, and after Fortas's ascension to the Supreme Court the firm dropped his name and is now known as Arnold & Porter. For many years, it has been one of Washington's most influential law firms, and today is among the largest law firms in the world.

In 1948, Lyndon Johnson ran for the Democratic nomination for one of Texas' seats in the U.S. Senate. He won the primary by only 87 votes. His opponent, former Texas governor Coke R. Stevenson, convinced a federal judge to issue an order taking Johnson's name off of the general election ballot while the primary results were being contested; there were serious allegations of corruption in the voting process, including 200 Johnson votes that had been cast in alphabetical order. Johnson asked Fortas for help, and Fortas persuaded U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black to overturn the ruling. Johnson became a U.S. senator, winning the general election.

During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, Fortas came to widespread notice as the defense attorney for Owen Lattimore. In 1950, Fortas often clashed with Senator Joseph McCarthy when representing Lattimore before the Tydings Committee and later before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee.