History - Law

Sabattus High School portrait of Gleason Archer, who would go on to graduate as valedictorian of the Class of 1902 (1899).

Gleason Archer inscribed this color postcard of the Boston Court House, “Here is where I became a lawyer at 9:30 this morning G.L. Archer August 21 ‘06” (1906).

The diploma of Roland E. Brown. Brown, a machinist, was a member of the first class and the first Suffolk student to pass the Massachusetts Bar. He accomplished this feat as a junior in 1908.

This building at 45 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, was the Law School’s home beginning in 1914, the year the school received its degree-granting charter and changed its name to Suffolk Law School. Because Archer had mortgaged his home to purchase the building, he and his family moved into the top floor (1914).

Thomas Vreeland Jones was one of the first African Americans to graduate from Suffolk Law School, in 1915 at age 40. His family and friends established a scholarship in his memory (1915).

Suffolk University grew from humble beginnings in the living room of Gleason Archer’s home in Roxbury. Here, on September 19, 1906, the young lawyer began teaching a handful of workingmen who wished to study law in the evenings (1916).

Catharine C. Caraher was 17 when Gleason Archer hired her as his secretary in 1919. Eventually she became assistant treasurer and director of the executive staff (1919).

Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge delivers his first public address after being nominated for the vice presidency of the United States. The occasion was the laying of the cornerstone for the Archer Building on August 4, 1920.

The Suffolk Law School Register continues as the students’ news vehicle, under the guidance of an eight-member editorial staff (1920).

An "admission coupon" used in the Law School from 1921 until World War II. Each time a student attended class he was required to present one of these tickets to a monitor, allowing tuition payment and attendance to be recorded simultaneously (1928).

Harry Hom Dow (1904–1985), who graduated in 1929, became the first Chinese-American admitted to the Massachusetts Bar. He practiced immigration law in Boston and New York and served in World War II and the Korean War. Returning to Boston, he devoted his time to the issues of housing, health care, and legal services for the poor (1929).

Gleason Archer joins Suffolk Trustee Thomas Jefferson Boynton at the Suffolk University Faculty Club. In addition to being a Trustee, Mr. Boynton served as Massachusetts Attorney General and Mayor of Everett, Massachusetts (1937).

Dean Frank Simpson, who served as Dean from 1942 to 1952. He added a full-time day program, a summer session, and new electives (1948).

Bursar Dorothy McNamara and her office staff, including Alice DeRosa on left. "Dottie Mac" was beloved by generations of Suffolk students and alumni, for whom she served as a counselor and advocate during her 47 years at the University (1950).

Red Sox superstar Ted Williams accepts a Suffolk varsity letter from Dick Conway and Don Shea of the Suffolk University Varsity Club (1950).

Catherine Judge (JD '57, LLM '60) became Suffolk’s first woman law professor in 1966 (right). She joined Suffolk as the Law School Registrar in 1955. Her involvement with the Law School spanned more than half a century. She is shown as registrar in 1955.

House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill receives an honorary degree from Suffolk University President Thomas A. Fulham and Board Chairman John E. Fenton (1967).

Professor Thomas Lambert, a veteran of the Nuremberg Trials who was noted for his expertise on tort law. An endowed chair has been named in his honor (1970).

Ralph Nader addresses a Suffolk University Law School event. SBA President and future Suffolk University Law School Associate Dean John Deliso (JD '72) is seated at far left (1971).

Attorney and author Louis Nizer (middle) at a Suffolk Law Forum with Suffolk University President Thomas A. Fulham and the Honorable Malcolm Donahue (1978).