The Christian Legal Society (CLS) at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s Lansing campus hosted a special guest at the Lansing campus, State Bar of Michigan President, Larry Nolan who discussed the role that faith plays in helping you find legal success.
Larry Nolan stated that when he talks to different groups, he lets them know that the need and demand for lawyers is great. We really need to know we have good lawyers and judges out there.
Larry Nolan mentioned that there is a lot of good things happening within the profession. He is proud to be a lawyer and has been practicing for the past 42 years. He loves the law, and believes if you have a passion for the law, it will serve you well and you can make a difference. He wrote an article in the Michigan Bar Journal that was called the USS Iowa explosion April 19, 1989. Forty seven sailors were killed on board a ship called the Iowa and there were four major ships that were 900 feet long. Think of that, think of (University of) Michigan’s stadium. That would fit a third of Iowa into Michigan stadium. It was three times the size.
He got involved with the case, not because he knew the family from Eaton Rapids who lost their son, but because he went to church and sat in the first pew and their family sat behind us. In his church, during the celebration, you turn at a point in the mass and say peace be with you with people you are sitting near. he only knew the family because they always sat behind us. Mr. Nolan only knew them because he saw them on Sundays. He never had any social discussion with them, until this tragedy happened. They came to him because they knew that he was a Christian lawyer, and was in their hometown, and they wanted some meaning to come out of this event. It was a six-year year journey, from filing suit in the Eastern District of Virginia and Norfolk, to Richmond in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, then to the Supreme Court. It all arose because he was living in the community, going to the same church, and the family felt comfortable coming to me in handling the case where their son was tragically taken from them. We as lawyers, and we as Christian lawyers, you can look at the 10 commandments and just about take anything off the 10 commandments and use them as the common law and develop from that all the other laws that exist.
Larry Nolan still enjoys what he is doing 42 years later. A story that Mr. Nolan shares helps to capture what he hopes that all of you will embrace as future lawyers. Mr. Nolan shared that he once went to funeral where there was a Rabbi who gave the eulogy and said the deceased person was mensch. When he described what a mensch was he said it was a person who does the right thing knowing he could to the wrong thing, but does the right thing even knowing no one is watching. In your future endeavors, always remember one thing; Do the right thing when you know no one is watching.
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