This Washington Post article provides a fine report on the various memorial services for Lloyd Cutler, the longtime Washington attorney and insider who died this past Sunday. Mr. Cutler served as an official and unoffical adviser to most of the Presidents over the past generation.
Mr. Cutler was a Democrat, but he was widely respected by both sides of the political aisle for his conscience, which is not always considered an asset in the hard-knuckled backrooms of Washington. For example, Mr. Cutler opposed the Democratic Party’s successful effort to thwart conservative Judge Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987 and often defended the automobile industry in legal proceedings that consumer activist Ralph Nadar pursued over safety issues. Over the past year, Mr. Cutler served on President Bush’s commission that investigated intelligence failures during the run-up to the war in Iraq.
As with Texan Robert Strauss, Mr. Cutler served our country selflessly while working quietly in the background to resolve many important issues of our time. He exemplified what a lawyer should aspire to be.