In memoriam: Marshall R. Cassedy.

• Author: Harkness, John F., Jr.
• Position: Executive Directions - Obituary

In early December, when family, friends, and colleagues gathered in Tallahassee for the funeral of Marshall R. Cassedy, former executive director of The Florida Bar, descriptions of him such as fun, charming, and kind joined those of extraordinary, forward thinking, dedicated, and professional circulated. Marshall led the Bar (1961-1980) during pivotal change--lawyer advertising, constitutional revision of Article V, specialization/designation (the forerunner to the present certification program), cameras in the courtroom, and judicial merit selection and retention.

What many do not realize is that the Bar's executive director also serves as publisher of The Florida Bar Journal, and Marshall's column, "Brief-ly Yours," chronicled many legal developments in the Bar. In his article in the July/August 1977 issue, Marshall celebrated the publication's 50th anniversary not only by writing of its accomplishments, but also by noting the fun he'd had as its publisher, including his observations of the legislative interview with Sen. Reubin Askew and Rep. Sandy D'Alemberte in the March 1969 issue. "The interview itself in the board room at the Bar Center went well with both politicians at their usual sharpness. And Rube, in his typical meticulous way, had to take several days to edit the final work product to ensure perfection in every word. I wonder, was the glitter of the Governor's chair in his eye at that early date."

The "unhappy" moments for the Journal that Marshall noted on occasion still rise to your current publisher's notice: "complaints that the Journal was too slanted philosophically to the liberal or conservative side ... and regrettably, the too frequent wrong name under a group photograph." Another "unhappy" moment was the Journal's involvement in a lawsuit for libel that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He added, "We won."

Marshall believed the regulation of attorneys as the highest priority within the Bar due to the profound belief "that lawyers must measure up, they must be honest, they cannot misappropriate funds, they...