Trevor Goring (Photo by Toni Messina)
I was recently at a Miami conference of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) when my mind (and body) wandered from the main conference room into one of the adjoining spaces set up for promoters to sell their wares. Men and women in dark suits sat behind tables hawking everything from expert ballistics services to info on how to integrate social media and legal web sites. Pretty much standard fare.
One table in the far corner stood out, as did the person who ran it. Strewn with original art work and lithograph reproductions of famous lawyers throughout history and fronted by a man who looked more like Christopher Lloyd as “Doc” Brown from “Back to the Future” than a sales rep or lawyer, it immediately drew my attention.
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The man was Trevor Goring, a slim-built, 70-something free spirit from Montreal. He didn’t dress like a lawyer because he isn’t one, he is an artist — the creator of all the work displayed on the table and the founder of the “Trial Lawyer, National Portrait Gallery,” an online gallery of portraits (done by him) of lawyers he felt merited a place in what’s billed as “a virtual museum and education archive depicting Champions of Justice.”
London-born Goring started off as an iconoclast, running away from home at age 16 and hitchhiking his way to Turkey. His mom’s advice, “Have a nice time, darling.” He ended up in Montreal in 1967 in time for the Expo and studied art at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts. He was there at just the right moment, when social activism for everything from workers’ rights and environmental issues matched a boom in contemporary art. He launched Montreal’s “Time Out” magazine and worked on other publications with famed artists like Bill Viola and Philip Glass.
He was having trouble dealing with the politics of art galleries and finding his own voice — a uniqueness that combined his interest in art with social activism – when he got an idea for a niche.
After studying artistic depictions relating to the law as far back as books on the Code of Hammurabi, Goring decided he wanted to show lawyers who, in their time, made a difference in the world. He started with people like John Adams, Thurgood Marshall, and Clarence Darrow, and then expanded to lesser-known fighters for social justice like Clara Shortridge Foltz, the first female lawyer to practice on the U.S. Pacific coast and a single mother of five who led the movement for women’s voting rights.
His “National Portrait Gallery” has now become a Who’s Who of lawyers who’ve practiced over centuries. Some are fictional, like Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and the all-male jurors of “Twelve Angry Men,” but most are real-life attorneys who, throughout the years, have left their mark in the area of civil rights and criminal justice.
Although most lawyers pay to have their portraits done by Goring ($15,000 includes the original painting plus notecards, three lithograph prints, and a biography), Goring often takes on portrait subjects for free simply because they deserve the recognition – people like Earl Rogers, Rosa Parks, Bryan Stevenson.
Others include Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a Boston trial lawyer, graduate of Yale, and recipient of the U.S. medal of honor, and, Arthur H. Bryant, chairman of Public Justice and known for his work fighting for consumer and workers’ rights as well as environmental protection and corporate and government accountability.
I interviewed Goring in his Montreal studio, a former printing factory in Montreal’s Mile X neighborhood. The walls were covered with depictions of lawyers and scattered over tables were lithographs of notables such as Martin Luther King, F.L. Baily, Cicero, Melvin Belli, Robert Kennedy, and Sonia Sotomayor. On his coffee table, in addition to books on art, sat Seattle lawyer Michael Withey’s book, “Summary Execution.”
“History has long had a tradition of artists with patrons who hired them to do portraits,” Goring said. “What better patron base than lawyers seeking social justice and upholding due process.” To start the project, he reached out to Erin Brockovich lawyer Tom Girardi, who gave him $10,000 in seed money.
He noted how prior portraits of lawyers by artists like Honoree Daumier and William Hogarth lampooned the profession, depicting lawyers as thieves and scoundrels. Goring wanted to push back against what he called “the constant denigration” of trial attorneys to portray them as people “who dedicate their lives to a fair and balanced justice system accessible to all.”
“I used to lie awake worrying about being cutting edge. But the moment I started doing this, I felt totally liberated. It took away all that angst about being a contemporary artist.”
His portraits clearly show the work of a skilled artist, a unique hand, and a commitment to creating a legacy that honors lawyers who have made an impact (and anyone else who can afford the price tag).
Not a bad gift for the underappreciated lawyer in your life.
Toni Messina has tried over 100 cases and has been practicing criminal law and immigration since 1990. You can follow her on Twitter: @tonitamess.