Activist Lawyers Establish “Unconventional” Law Firm
A group of lawyers active in defending New Left, anti-war and other political dissidents opened what The New York Times on this day described as an “unconventional” law firm.
The attorneys included William Kunstler, Arthur Kinoy, and Benjamin Smith, each of whom had been involved in high-profile political cases in recent years.
Kunstler first became active in the southern civil rights movement. Smith represented the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in its demand to be seated at the National Democratic Party Convention in 1964.
The law firm eventually merged with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which continues to be active today.
Learn more: William Kunstler, My Life as a Radical Lawyer (1994)
Visit the CCR website: http://ccrjustice.org/
Read: David J. Langum, Sr., William M. Kunstler: The Most Hated Lawyer in America, (1999)
Read: Arthur Kinoy, Rights on Trial: The Odyssey Of A People’s Lawyer (1994)
Watch the trailer for the documentary on Kunstler, Disturbing the Universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYYLBDTMNWU