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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 451 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 451

  Honoring the achievements of Rawle and Henderson LLP, on its 225th 
     anniversary and on being recognized as the oldest law firm in 
               continuous practice in the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 2008

    Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Honoring the achievements of Rawle and Henderson LLP, on its 225th 
     anniversary and on being recognized as the oldest law firm in 
               continuous practice in the United States.

Whereas the law firm of Rawle and Henderson LLP has established and maintained a 
        firm of national distinction whose reputation is based upon the notable 
        accomplishments of its founders and its commitment to providing quality 
        legal services to its clients;
Whereas Rawle and Henderson LLP celebrates 225 years of legal service in 2008, 
        initiated by 5 generations of a family and expanded to over 100 
        attorneys in 8 offices and 5 states;
Whereas Rawle and Henderson attorneys throughout the last 225 years have served 
        both the civic and legal community in the capacity of elected officials, 
        as well as appointed and elected judges on the Federal and State 
        benches;
Whereas William Rawle, who founded his practice in Philadelphia in 1783, was 
        inspired by the innovation of the Revolutionary era and his notable 
        contemporaries, such as Benjamin Franklin;
Whereas William Rawle actively participated in the ideological revolution as 
        well, serving as chancellor of the Associated Members of the Bar of 
        Philadelphia, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society and 
        helped found the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts;
Whereas William Rawle was made a Trustee by the University of Pennsylvania in 
        1796, a position he served with ``zeal and punctuality'';
Whereas William Rawle's son, William Rawle, Jr., joined the office in 1810, 
        along with his brother William Henry, who eventually assumed his 
        father's position in the firm;
Whereas William Henry Rawle received his degree from the University of 
        Pennsylvania, and published articles such as the ``Practical Treatise on 
        the Law of Covenants for Title'', which was accepted as a legal 
        authority throughout the Union and in England;
Whereas William Henry Rawle was also invited to speak to the law department of 
        his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1884 he appeared 
        before a joint session of Congress to deliver a speech honoring Chief 
        Justice John Marshall;
Whereas William Henry Rawle served as vice president of the Law Association of 
        Philadelphia, and was noted by George Washington Biddle for his 
        ``intellectual strength and brilliancy of expression'';
Whereas William Rawle's grandson Francis Rawle, the next leader of the Rawle law 
        offices, attended Harvard College, began his law career in 1873, and was 
        one of the founders of the American Bar Association and its first 
        secretary and treasurer, later becoming its president in 1902;
Whereas Francis Rawle was a prolific author who gained national recognition with 
        his revision of Bouvier's Law Dictionary, the publication of which 
        coincided with the centennial of the Rawle firm in 1883, and he served 
        as a delegate from the American Bar Association to the London Conference 
        for Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations in 1887;
Whereas Colonel William Brooke Rawle, nephew of William Henry, served his 
        country with distinction during the Civil War, entering the Union Army 
        as Second Lieutenant, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, was commended by his 
        cousin Francis Rawle for his service, and went on to earn a master's 
        degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1866 and to join the 
        family firm a year later, remaining the head of the office until his 
        death in 1915;
Whereas Joseph W. Henderson joined the Rawle firm upon graduation from Harvard 
        Law School, expanding the firm's reputation for legal excellence and 
        eventually becoming a partner in 1917;
Whereas, in similar fashion to his colleagues, Joseph Henderson reached a 
        position of considerable power in the Philadelphia Bar Association and 
        became chairman of the Association's Board of Governors in 1936;
Whereas Joseph Henderson carried on the firm's tradition of leadership upon the 
        passing of Francis Rawle, and oversaw 2 other significant additions, 
        George Brodhead and Tom Mount, who worked in trusts and estates and the 
        admiralty business, respectively;
Whereas Joseph Henderson continued to lead the firm with landmark cases in the 
        area of ship owner liability, arguing many of them before the Supreme 
        Court;
Whereas the Rawle and Henderson firm has evolved into one of the leading legal 
        firms in the country, employing a racially and socioeconomically diverse 
        staff, and has a number of attorneys honored as ``Super Lawyers'' in 
        Pennsylvania; and
Whereas, supported upon the integrity of its founders and the numerous 
        accomplishments of the Rawle family and of Joseph W. Henderson, the firm 
        of Rawle and Henderson is primed to extend its history and tradition of 
        legal innovation into a future of continued prominence: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commemorates the achievement of Rawle and Henderson LLP 
        on its 225th anniversary and on being recognized as the oldest 
        law firm in continuous practice in the United States; and
            (2) salutes the profound legacy the attorneys of Rawle and 
        Henderson LLP have provided to the civic and legal community of 
        Pennsylvania and the Nation.
                                 <all>
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