Thurman Arnold

Thurman Arnold (June 2, 1891 - November 7, 1969)

Professional Life

Thurman Arnold was an idiosyncratic Washington Lawyer best known for his trust-busting campaign as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Department of Justice.

Related Topics:
Trust-busting - Assistant Attorney General - Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Department of Justice

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Before coming to Washington in 1938, Thurman was professor at Yale Law School, where he took part in the legal realism movement, and published two books: The Symbols of Government (1935) and The Folklore of Capitalism (1937). A few years later, he published The Bottlenecks of Business (1940) while serving in the Department of Justice.

Related Topics:
1938 - Yale Law School - Legal realism

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In 1943, Thurman was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was never happy on the court, leaving after only two years on the bench. As an explanation of his decision, he told observers he "would rather be speaking to damn fools than listening to damn fools." He returned to private practice where, along with Paul Porter and Abe Fortas, he co-founded the firm known today as Arnold & Porter.

Related Topics:
1943 - United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - Abe Fortas - Arnold & Porter

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