As first MBA president, Olney focused on improving profession

Richard Olney stepped forward as the first president of the Massachusetts Bar Association at a time of growing commercialism in the legal field. A graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law, he expressed concern at the worsening reputation of lawyers in the United States as their numbers swelled. These problems led Olney to open the MBA's first meeting in 1910 by encouraging members to help police the profession, reform the law and improve the bar's reputation.

At the MBA's first annual meeting, in 1910, Olney argued that a strong state bar association was "imperatively required" to help combat falling standards in the profession.

Olney came into the legal profession through his father-in-law's Boston practice, and his strong legal reputation earned him a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. President Grover Cleveland later appointed him as U.S. attorney general and then as U.S. secretary of state. Olney utilized these positions to take on important legal questions facing the nation in the last years of the 19th century.

As attorney general, Olney set the precedent for "government by injunction," so district attorneys could prevent strikers from committing acts of violence. Then, as secretary of state, he took a strong position on the Monroe Doctrine and its place in international law during a territory dispute between the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

After Cleveland's term, Olney returned to private practice in the Boston area, where he worked with other lawyers to found the MBA. He later turned down opportunities to run for president, to become U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, and to join the Federal Reserve Board as its governor, citing old age. Olney's influence, public service and dedication to legal ethical standards set an example for other members and future leaders of the MBA.