Weighing in on Whitewater, the legal profession, Ken Starr visits Campbell

Buies Creek, N.C.–His message was about reclaiming a noble profession and legal ethics have definitely been at the forefront of the career of Pepperdine Law School Dean Ken Starr, who served as Independent Counsel during the infamous Whitewater investigation. Starr spoke to first-year law students at Campbell’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The forum is part of the Professionalism series sponsored by the law school.Quoting Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in the Introduction to a book about the legal profession, Starr said, “The law is a venerable and ancient profession, it is noble, but it is time to reclaim it.” “….The legal profession builds no bridges. We raise no powers, we construct no engines…there is little of all that we do that meets the eye, but we smooth out difficulties. We relieve stress, we correct mistakes. We take up the burdens of men and women by our efforts. We make possible a peaceful state,” he added, quoting another revered legal mind, John W. Davis.Reclaiming the nobility of the legal profession is like building a great cathedral brick by brick, Starr noted. Lawyers must be servant leaders, invested in the community, possess integrity, believe in the dignity of every human being and work diligently for the common good.”An emphasis on individual autonomy is an important value to secure the constitutional rights of the individual which the Constitution lifts up, but the opening words of the Constitution, ‘We the people of the United States,’ are much more humanitarian than individual autonomy. We then become part of the cathedral,” Starr said. Starr gained national attention as Independent Counsel during the Whitewater investigation concerning the real estate dealings of President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture during the 1970s and ’80s. Starr handled the federal investigation as well as four others. Today, however, he believes the role of Independent Counsel violated the constitutional construct of the separation of powers. “The Counsel was not accountable to any branch of government–Executive, Legislative or Judicial,” he said. “Most people would say, ‘That’s good,’ but to me it was a structural defect because the Counsel was out in no man’s land with no one to report to.”Starr received a Juris Doctor from Duke University in 1973. He clerked for the Honorable David W. Dyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals and for Chief Justice Warren Burger. He was a partner in the law firm, Kirkland, Ellis, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and has served as Counselor to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith, Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit Solicitor General of the United States and Independent Counsel. His areas of expertise are constitutional law, federal courts, federal jurisdiction and antitrust.Photo Copy: Pepperdine Law School Dean Ken Starr speaks to students at Campbell’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. (Photo by Shannon Ryals)

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