Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame now in order on Temple campus

It’s not only sports or rock and roll that have halls of fame. Philadelphia is now host to a facility to honor the best trial lawyers. 

The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame has opened on the campus of Temple University. Recent Inductee Howard Nations says it’s a place where the endless attorney jokes stop and people have an opportunity to study the greatest in the profession.

“It goes back and picks up people from the past such as Clarence Darrow. And, of course, John Adams was one of the most famous trial lawyers who defended equal justice for all when he defended Capt. Preston and his eight soldiers after the Boston Massacre,” said Nations.

Johnnie Cochran, who defended O.J. Simpson during his murder trial, also made the hall’s list. 

Nations said he plans to donate papers and other items for those thinking about joining the profession to review.

“To try to inspire a whole new generation of new lawyers who are coming up behind us,” he said.  “I’m going to be writing and speaking and recording my trial techniques and things of that nature.”

Without attorneys there might still be asbestos in everyday use, Nations said, and the GM ignition switch problem might never have been revealed.

Other inductees include Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Elaine Jones of the NAACP, defense attorney Gerry Spence, and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.