Summer 2009 - Cumberland School of Law - Samford University

Cumberland School of Law Graduates
158 Students from 11 States
On May 16, 2009, Cumberland School
of Law held commencement at Samford
University’sWright Center.The
Honorable SusanWebberWright was
the commencement speaker.Appointed by
President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to the
position of the U.S. District Judge of the
Eastern District of Arkansas, she was assigned
some of the most difficult, most publicized cases
of the 1990s, including theWhitewater prosecution
by Kenneth Star and Paula Jones vs.
President Clinton. In his introduction, Dean
John Carroll saidWebber “is a living example
of what the ‘rule of law’ means.” Here is an
excerpt from her address.
Almost every federal judge I know says
that he or she has the best job a lawyer can
have. Getting to be a federal judge is
somewhat difficult.You have to have
friends somewhere, and I would never say
10 SUMMER 2009 • THE CUMBLERLAND LAWYER
The Honorable Susan Webber Wright addresses Cumberland
School of Law juris doctor degree candidates.
that I got my job on merit, because I did
not. But there are some judge jokes:
Do you know what the difference is
between a federal judge and God? Well,
God knows that he is not a federal judge.
Of course, there are other jokes, and
there are lawyer jokes too.
Unfortunately, what makes jokes
about judges and lawyers funny is that the
jokes themselves contain a grain of truth
about attributes others perceive in us.The
joke about God and federal judges is based
upon the fact that many perceive federal
judges to be arrogant and self-absorbed in
the exercise of their sometimes considerable
authority over others. Some perceive
lawyers as being greedy, slothful, dishonest
parasites who thrive on the troubles and
misfortunes of others, and perpetuate the
need for their own services by making
laws and regulations that are too complex
for the average layman.
As today’s law school graduates, you
probably perceive lawyers in a more favorable
light—as individuals who strive to
represent their clients’ interests diligently
while upholding the Constitution and
laws of the land.You understand that
without lawyers, our form of government,
our very way of life, would not survive.
And you understand that being a lawyer
has duties and privileges that are unknown
to any other profession.You understand
the burdens and also the benefits of the
law.
Today, I want to address the topic of
reputation—your own reputation as a
lawyer, a citizen and as an individual.You
want to avoid the attributes that make
lawyer jokes funny.You want to have the
reputation of the honest, diligent lawyer,
the advocate who plays an indispensable