‘Have You No Decency, Sir?’ An Anniversary with Ties and Meaning Today

The political courage and integrity of June 9, 1954, resonates today

Historical anniversaries come and go. Those celebrated in years not defined by a milestone number often are forgotten in the press of current events. But it is precisely because of today’s events that we should mark the significance of an event 71 years ago and the legacy of integrity passed from a courageous attorney to his successors.

On June 9, 1954, attorney Joseph N. Welch was representing the U.S. Army, a pro bono client, before a Senate committee investigating alleged Communist influence in everything from Hollywood to the military. The hearings, chaired by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI), had not gone well for the senator. During weeks of testimony, Welch on behalf of his clients refused to concede an inch to McCarthy’s unfounded and increasingly extreme claims. The erudite and witty Welch blunted every attack by McCarthy, leaving the senator increasingly agitated.

In desperation, McCarthy focused his vitriol on Frederick G. Fisher, a young associate in Welch’s Boston law firm, Hale and Dorr. Fisher, a Harvard Law School graduate, had been assigned by the firm to assist Welch in the hearings. In preparing Fisher for the task, however, Welch learned of the young attorney’s brief membership in the National Lawyers Guild, a liberal group that had represented many of McCarthy’s most famous victims.

Welch recognized Fisher’s vulnerability with the ruthless McCarthy and replaced him on the team. That didn’t stop McCarthy who, having failed to land attacks against Welch and his client, went after Fisher.

Welch would have none of it:

“Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Fred Fisher is a young man who went to the Harvard Law School and came into my firm and is starting what looks to be a brilliant career with us.… Little did I dream you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. It is true he is still with Hale and Dorr. It is true that he will continue to be with Hale and Dorr. It is, I regret to say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty I would do so. I like to think I am a gentle man but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me.”

When McCarthy again tried to attack Fisher, Welch interrupted and spoke the line that should forever mark June 9 as a day to celebrate public courage and integrity:

“Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the Lawyers Guild.… Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

Welch’s defense of “the young lad” (who went on to have a distinguished career, including a term as president of the Massachusetts Bar Association) and his pithy and pointed questioning of McCarthy’s lack of decency marked the beginning of the end to McCarthy’s reign of terror.

June 9 and Welch’s damning line is more relevant today than ever. In a moment of history repeating itself, Welch’s law firm, Hale and Dorr today is known as WilmerHale. It consistently is ranked by peers and national publications among the top law firms in the country. WilmerHale has a long history of providing legal services, including many pro bono clients, in defense of civil rights, against apartheid in South Africa and in support of legal aid, among other causes. Throughout its history, the firm has provided counsel to national political figures, Republicans and Democrats alike.

WilmerHale also is one of the nation’s prominent law firms targeted by President Trump because they “threaten public safety and national security, limit constitutional freedoms, degrade the quality of American elections, or undermine bedrock American principles,” as the President said n a March executive order. Trump said WilmerHale should be barred from government contracts, receiving security clearances and even entering government buildings.

Just as McCarthy went after the National Lawyers Guild for defending the Hollywood Ten and others who were dragged through lies and attacks by the senator, Trump targeted WlmerHale for hiring Special Counsel Robert Mueller and some top aides after they finished their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump said Mueller and team “wielded the power of the Federal Government to lead one of the most partisan investigations in American history. Mueller’s investigation epitomizes the weaponization of government…”

In fact, as multiple investigations by Republicans in Congress, Trump’s own Department of Justice and others determined, Russia was actively interfering with the election, although Trump’s direct involvement was not proved.

So far, nine prominent law firms have capitulated and struck deals with the Trump Administration. WilmerHale is one of four to take Trump and team to court. Joseph Welch would be proud.

On May 27, a federal court agreed with the firm and blocked Trump’s order. From the first paragraph of his ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Leon left no doubt of his disdain for Trump’s arguments, even writing with a very obvious nod to Trump’s penchant for exclamation points:

“The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The Founding Fathers knew this! Accordingly, they took pains to enshrine in the Constitution certain rights that would serve the foundation of that independence. Little wonder that in the nearly 250 years since the Constitution was adopted no Executive Order has been issued challenging these fundamental rights…For the reasons set forth below, I have concluded that this Order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional. Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!”

Traditions of integrity, courage and righteous moral outrage should be celebrated, especially in these times. Too many major institutions, from national media outlets to universities to businesses and law firms are capitulating to a person seeking vengeance and personal power. WilmerHale stayed true to its legacy.

June 9 should be an occasion for the nation to ask of Donald Trump the long overdue question: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

The legacy of Joseph Welch and the judgment of the Founding Fathers demand nothing less!!!!!!

(Trump’s executive order regarding WilmerHale can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/addressing-risks-from-wilmerhale/. Judge Leon’s order is at https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278933/gov.uscourts.dcd.278933.110.0_2.pdf)