Born:  February 27, 1916
Harrisburg, Illinois

Died: March 19, 2005
Washington, DC

Summary by
William H. Jeffress, Jr.

Interviews Conducted by
Robert E. Jordan, III, Esq.

John H. Pickering, Esq.

Oral History Text & Documentation

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Oral History Summary

BIOGRAPHY – October 20, 1993

Primary and Secondary Education
Public schools of Harrisburg, Illinois

Higher Education
University of Michigan, A.B., 1938
J.D., 1940

Positions Held
Associate, Cravath, de Gersdorff, Swaine & Wood, 1941
Associate, Wilmer & Broun, 1946-48; partner, 1949-62
Partner, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, 1962-79, 1981-88; Counsel 1989
Partner, Wilmer & Pickering, 1979-81

Military Service
USNR, 1943-46

Other Government Service
Law clerk to Justice Frank Murphy, United States Supreme Court, 1941-43

Civic and Community Activities
Moderator, Westmoreland Church
Vice President, Hospice Care of D.C.
Chair of miscellaneous bar and court committees including Advisory Committee on Procedures and mediation program of U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and chair of ABA Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly

Honors and Awards
Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Michigan, 1978
Distinguished Service Award, National Center for State Courts, 1985
Appreciation Award, National Women’s Law Center, 1989
Pro Bono Award, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 1990
Fifty Year Award, The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, 1993

Publications
Federal Restrictions on State Criminal Procedure, University of Chicago Law Review, 1946
Howard: Mr. Justice Murphy, A Political Biography, Harvard Law Review, 1971
Death and the Law: What is the Right to Die? Winkelman Lecture presented at the University of Michigan, 1989

Date and Place of Birth
February 27, 1916; Harrisburg, Illinois

Parents
Father: J. Leslie Pickering, Born 1890
Mother: Virginia Moms Pickering, Born 1892