Judge Dwyer's speeches bring legend to life

"Ipse Dixit: How the World Looks to a Federal Judge" by William L. Dwyer should be required reading for every new lawyer admitted to the Washington State Bar Association.

Judge Dwyer was a legend both as a trial lawyer and as a federal judge in Seattle. He was appointed by President Reagan as a U.S. District Court judge. Although his appointment was delayed for more than a year over concerns raised by conservative senators, he won confirmation and served from 1987 to 2002. From major league baseball, to the timber wars over the spotted owl, to federal term limits, Judge Dwyer was at the center of many of the most important controversies of the past 30 years.

In the months before his death in 2002, Judge Dwyer compiled this collection of speeches he delivered during his years as a federal judge and even wrote the preface for "Ipse Dixit" (University of Washington, 176 pp., $24). The title is Latin for "he himself said it," typically used for unsupported assertions. He originally collected these materials for his grandchildren, and it was his widow, Vasiliki Dwyer, who brought them forward for publication. Like reading a long-delayed letter from an old friend, it's a wistful experience to read the preface, followed by a series of thoughtful essays.

The 15 speeches included in this volume span the years 1978-2002. Judge Dwyer addresses, with wit and insight, topics ranging from international law to lawyer professionalism, his self-effacing humor on vivid display throughout. Accepting an award in 1992 to the prestigious "Order of the Coif," typically an honor bestowed on the brightest law students, he commented, "to those of the class of 1952 who made Order of the Coif the hard way, and who might think this award is unjust, I can only point out that you have had a handsome certificate on your wall for forty years in a spot where I have had to make do with an old photograph of a fishing trip."

Judge Dwyer was also an outstanding trial lawyer who took pride in his work and saw lawyers as an essential part of a democracy, critical to the preservation of liberty in a free society.

His 1993 speech to the Federal Bar Association on ethics in the practice of law is a careful, logical call to the practical value of civility and the debasing effects of extremism in the courtroom. He called it one of the "basic truths" of law practice: "that the best rewards come to those who are not just capable but ethical."

Judge Dwyer's long-standing ties to the Northwest and to Seattle are evident throughout the collection. His fond memories of hiking through the North Cascades and involvement in some of the most significant cases of the past 40 years — first as a lawyer and later as a judge — are sprinkled throughout the book.

In 1998, Judge Dwyer took senior status, a form of semi-retirement for federal judges. In his speech to the Federal Bar Association that evening, he recalled his warm reception from the bar after he was (finally) confirmed, then observed: "Tonight's greeting seems even warmer. I can only assume that the bar is even happier about my departure than it was about my arrival." Nothing could be further from the truth.

In 2002, only months before the judge died, his daughter Joanna delivered Judge Dwyer's last speech, on his behalf, on the value of pro bono legal work for the poor — legal services provided free of charge to those without the means to pay. It's a fitting end piece for the collection, touching not only on the role of legal services in the cause of justice but also on the critical contributions of lawyers, in big firms and small, to filling that need.

Meade Emory, a University of Washington law professor, saw the project through to completion, contributing explanatory end notes, a warm remembrance in the foreword, and an interesting compilation of articles written by and about Judge Dwyer. Stimson Bullitt contributed a foreword for his close friend.

Inspiring, thoughtful and beautiful, this collection of essays is a gem.

Kevin J. Hamilton is a Seattle lawyer.