page_title: Clifford Scott Green
section_title: Legal career
hierarchical_section_title: Clifford Scott Green / Legal career
context_page_description: Clifford Scott Green was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Green was the eighteenth African-American Article III judge appointed in the United States, and the second African-American judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. During his 36 years on the federal bench Judge Green presided over a number of notable cases, and was regarded as one of the most popular judges in the district.
context_section_description: Green passed the Pennsylvania bar exam in 1951, achieving the highest score in the state.  Green's early mentors included Robert N.C. Nix, Sr., who lived across the street from Green's family.  In January 1952, after being admitted to the bar, Green took over the practice of Thomas Reed, a black Philadelphia lawyer who was joining the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office under Richardson Dilworth (Green had also interviewed at the DA's office, but decided that he "couldn't fit in as a prosecutor").
  Green worked as a solo practitioner until March 1952, when he entered into a partnership with Harvey Schmidt. The firm was known as Schmidt and Green until 1954, when Doris M. Harris and A. Leon Higginbotham joined as partners. In 1955 J. Austin Norris, a prominent African-American political figure, joined the firm, which was then known as Norris, Schmidt, Green, Harris, & Higginbotham. The firm was the first African-American law firm in Philadelphia. The firm, which never numbered more than a dozen lawyers at a given time, produced four federal judges; Higginbotham, Green, and Herbert Hutton all served on the District Court (Higginbotham was later elevated to the Third Circuit), and William Hall was the first African American appointed as a federal magistrate judge. In addition, two members of the firm, Dorris Harris and Harvey Schmidt, were elected judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and William Brown was appointed by President Nixon to be chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  Green's practice while at the firm was diverse. Initially, the firm's practice was primarily criminal defense. As new partners were added, the firm expanded to include civil work, which eventually became the overwhelming majority of the work. Green eventually developed a specialized practice representing churches, including the National Baptist Convention, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, and Father Divine.  Additionally, Green represented parties both before and after the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in an attempt to integrate both the student and teacher populations in area school districts. He remained with the firm until his appointment to the bench.
  Green first entered public service as a special deputy commonwealth attorney general from 1954 to 1955. He was assigned as counsel for the Director of the Bureau of Workman's Compensation. In addition to representing the Director, Green was also responsible for approving all claims for compensation under the occupational disease statute whenever the Commonwealth was involved. In 1954 Green unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for Philadelphia City Council.
caption: Judge Green (second from the left) with his former law partners at his swearing in
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