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Edmisten Hands Out Sound Advice With Humor
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Rufus Edmisten
photo by Jimmy Allen |
Referring to himself as a “shallow water Baptist”
and someone who “sweats” rather than “perspires,” former North
Carolina Secretary of State Rufus Edmisten packed a lot of humor
into the advice he gave graduates of the Norman Adrian Wiggins
School of Law. Edmisten delivered the keynote address at the hooding
service held Sunday, May 9.
A veteran of both state and national government,
Edmisten delivered the subpoena to President Richard M. Nixon for the
Watergate tapes, but that is not how the former state attorney general
would like to be remembered.
“You can ask anybody about Rufus Edmisten and they may
say some things nice and some things that are not so nice,” he said,
“but he looked out after those who did not have the power or prestige to
do it for themselves.”
Edmisten urged the graduates to use their influence as
lawyers in a positive way for “the little guy,” to discard the notion
that to be a good attorney one must win at all costs, and to remain
cognizant of the fact that as attorneys, they are the guardians of
democracy.
“You have the power to do more good or more evil than
any other profession in the world,” he said. “I don’t care what kind of
a lawyer you are, civil or criminal, whatever you do, show compassion.
Have a sense that there are people in this world that can’t take care of
themselves, who are being kicked around by the government or by somebody
else. Don’t blow your responsibilities to them.”
Pointing to Brown v. the Board of Education,
Edmisten explained how the 50-year-old Supreme Court decision to
integrate public schools has shaped the history of America. “The
Legislature didn’t do that,” he said. “Bright, innovative lawyers did
that!”
Finally, Edmisten left the audience with several of what
he called “Rufusisms” or instructions for a successful career.
“Those who succeed are the ones who show the simple,
everyday courtesies of life like not looking down on people and
remembering that everybody is special,” he said. “Rely on yourself and
follow the message in the Book of Micah to ‘do justly, love, mercy and
walk humbly with God.’”
Rufus L. Edmisten is a partner in the law firm of
Edmisten and Webb in Raleigh, NC, specializing in government
representation and civil law. He served as North Carolina attorney
general from 1974-1984 and secretary of state from 1989-1996. He was a
nominee for governor of North Carolina in 1984 and served as an aide to
the late Sam Ervin, the United States senator who chaired the Watergate
Committee.
A total of 98 Juris Doctor degrees were conferred
Monday, May 10, during the graduation exercises.
Founded in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
has an enrollment of over 300 students and enjoys a heritage derived
from three distinct traditions--the noble tradition of the legal
profession, the Christian tradition, and the finer traditions of the
rural South, such as friendliness and self-reliance. It seeks to educate
lawyers who are prepared to serve their communities with legal skills
and ethical and intellectual leadership.
Bulletin 0149 |
