Penobscot County Bar Association marks centennial

BREWER – Two years after the Penobscot County Bar Association was formed in 1905, its members set minimum mandatory fees for legal services.

A retainer was not to be less than $10. An out-of-court matter was $2.50, and the charge for an in-court trial was not to fall below $5.

Back then, a loaf of bread cost 4 cents, a gallon of milk was 29 cents, a new car could be purchased for $500, and the average income of a Bangor resident was $862 a year,

bar association President James Nixon said Tuesday at a dinner to celebrate the organization’s centennial.

One hundred years later, a loaf of bread costs close to $2, a gallon of milk is more than $2, and Maine attorneys bill out at between $150 and $300 an hour.

What has not changed, however, is the collegiality of the bar, the 90 members and guests agreed at the 100th birthday party held at the Muddy Rudder in Brewer.

County, state and federal judges joined lawyers who practice in Penobscot County to honor the organization’s past and look to the next 100 years that include a new courthouse.

“We are all important members of this community,” said Paul Chaiken, a Bangor attorney. “We all know at least one member of the Legislature. We need to call them, take them to lunch, and then take them to the District Court [in Bangor].

“If we don’t show support for this project, we won’t get it.”

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court announced last week that it would ask the Legislature to approve a new courthouse at Washington and Exchange streets in Bangor. Estimated to cost $35 million, it would consolidate the district and superior courts.

Chaiken and two other Bangor lawyers, Kevin Cuddy and John Logan, have formed an ad hoc committee to urge their fellow attorneys to support the construction of the new facility.

Nixon has said that a majority of the organization’s members support building at the announced location rather than constructing a more expensive addition to the current Penobscot County Courthouse, completed in 1905.

Although he was not a founding member of the bar association, Penobscot County Probate Judge Allan Woodcock Jr. has been a member for 57 years. Woodcock, the state’s senior probate judge, will be 84 in June and is serving his 11th four-year term.

He noted on Tuesday that when he became a lawyer, there was just one woman practicing law in the state.

“I think the single greatest event that’s happened since I’ve been a lawyer and a member of the bar has been the entrance of women to the bar,” Woodcock said. “It has strengthened the bar immeasurably. … This is a wonderful way to go through life. We’re lucky to be lawyers.”

About 200 lawyers belong to the organization, according to Nixon. In addition to offering continuing education for attorneys, it also sponsors a student essay contest each year and recently offered free legal services to displaced mill workers.

The association also helps fund the law library located in the courthouse that serves as a regional library.

The evening was planned to coincide with the dates that the Maine Supreme Judicial Court convened in Bangor. Tuesday, however, was the third day of Passover, an eight-day holiday when many Jews follow kosher dietary laws.

Nixon said that the association had microwavable kosher meals brought up from Boston to accommodate its Jewish members.

It’s that kind of consideration and collegiality that makes the Penobscot County Bar Association special, according to Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley.

“Keep on doing whatever you’re doing, because Penobscot County is a great place for a judge to work,” Saufley said.