Harper Lee and the Alabama State Bar

A man of many talents and several careers, A. C. Lee was first and foremost a lawyer. While working as a bookkeeper for the law office of Barnett and Bugg, he studied law at night and after two years, passed the bar exam. The practice became Barnett, Bugg, and Lee.

When it came time for Miss Alice Lee to go to college, she chose to follow in her father's footsteps, studying law at University of Alabama.

A.C. and Alice wished for Nelle Harper Lee to join them in their practice. Harper Lee did indeed study law at University of Alabama, just like her sister, but she dropped out of school with just months left to go. She moved to New York to write, and the rest is history.

Harper Lee has admitted that A.C. Lee served as the model for Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch has become one of the most famous lawyers -- indeed, one of the most famous characters -- in modern American literature. This fictional character has become an icon not only in literature but also in the field of law.

Check out just a few of the honors related to law that have been bestowed upon Harper Lee and her creation Atticus Finch:

From the Minutes of the Alabama State Bar Board of Bar Commissioners Meeting on Friday, February 3, 2006:

12. ALABAMA STATE BAR AWARD OF MERIT

President Segall stated that Monroeville native Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, had been nominated to receive the Alabama State Bar Award of Merit for the noble portrayal of lawyers through her creation of the enduring character of Atticus Finch.

COMMISSIONER LAW AND COMMISSIONER PRICE JOINTLY MOVED THAT MONROEVILLE NATIVE, HARPER LEE, AUTHOER OF TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, RECEIVE THE ALABAMA STATE BAR AWARD OF MERIT FOR 2006. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED AND APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE.

Click here for a link to the Alabama Law Foundation's Atticus Finch Society. What does it take to be worthy of the association with Atticus Finch?

Moreover, there is a monument to Atticus Finch on the grounds of the Old Courthouse in Monroeville. Established by the Alabama State Bar in 1997, the memorial is the "first commemorative milestone in the state's judicial history," according to the Birmingham News article "'Mockingbird' Hero Honored in Monroeville."