Remembering Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, The, Spring 2007 by Rotunda, Ronald D

I first knew of Bob Drinan when I was an undergraduate student at Harvard and he was in the news as the combative dean at Boston College Law School. However, I did not meet him until several years later. I was a young assistant counsel working on the Senate Watergate Committee and he was-at that time-the combative U.S. Representative in the House. After our first meeting, our paths would often cross, perhaps because both his interests and mine turned to legal ethics. We met at conferences; we exchanged letters; we occasionally telephoned each other.

We often disagreed about politics and legal issues, but he seemed to enjoy our discussions. We would agree to disagree. Sometimes we would have dinner together at a local restaurant or in the Jesuit House at Georgetown. He was always knowledgeable, kind, enthusiastic, engaged-a true gentleman and a true friend.

He must have known thousands of people over the years, and I was just one of the faces in the crowd. But he always knew my name. He would see me across the room and wave. And I would see his infectious smile. I can still see his smile. He always had a welcoming smile.

There came a point when he wanted to establish The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Before he founded it, no one journal had "been established as the central forum for the discussion and development of the ethical and professional dilemmas confronting the lawyers of America."25 He wanted to create such a journal, and he envisioned its publication as a quarterly. No small task, but he succeeded.

He asked me to write one of the articles for the inaugural issue, and I was pleased to do so.26 That was in 1987. We are currently celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Journal-an event that was marked in October 2006 with a Symposium honoring Father Drinan and featuring a discussion between prominent legal practitioners and scholars about the current state of legal ethics and developments in the field since the Journal was founded.27 Although Bob was honored at Boston University the night before the Symposium, he took the first flight back to Washington, D.C. on Saturday morning so he could be on the Law Center campus in time for the Journal's anniversary event. That was the kind of man he was. He always showed up where he was needed. It also shows how committed he remained to the Journal long after starting it. Bob Drinan tirelessly nurtured The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics over these many years, so that it has become the premier publication it is today.

Bob Drinan's death made the news in obituaries throughout the world. Many people emailed me about his death soon after it became public. They shared their sorrow. And several of them-people of all religious faiths, or none at all-mentioned how, in times of trouble, Bob would listen, take an interest, and say something that made things better. He cared.

We shall all miss Bob Drinan. The better we knew him, the sorrier we are for losing him. Yes, he is dead, but in so many ways, he still lives-not just in his writings and teachings, but more importantly, in our hearts and memories. I can still see his smile. He always had a welcoming smile. When he-