Working in the Vineyard

“I see too much corporate greed, and, sadly, lawyers are leading that charge,” says Seattle attorney Lem Howell ’58, a longtime advocate for people fighting large companies’ legal teams.

At Lafayette, Howell, a native of Jamaica who had moved with his family to Harlem, flourished and was nominated for the Pepper Prize. In the Navy, he became the first black officer to serve on the troopship USS General George M. Randall. But as a graduate of New York University School of Law in 1964, he found “doors closed because of racism. I could never dream of going to work for a large firm.” He worked for Washington Gov. Albert Rosellini, passed the bar, and established a private practice.

In 1969, he argued in federal court on behalf of workers barred from labor unions, winning a case that would alter the lives of many African Americans. The government brought suit against the same unions two years later, which opened construction unions to African Americans in Washington state.

Among other honors, he has been named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. “There’s still a lot of work to do in the vineyard,” he says. “The type of law I do makes a difference for the injured and poor. I’m their champion.”