The Papers of A. J. Gustin Priest, 1919-1972, MSS 79-5 , MSS.79.5

Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections

Arthur J. Morris Law Library
580 Massie Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
archives@law.virginia.edu
URL: http://archives.law.virginia.edu/

Administrative Information

Biographical / Historical

A native of Nebraska, A.J. Gustin Priest served as a sergeant of infantry during World War I. He earned his B.A. from the University of Idaho, as well as a law degree there in 1921. He practiced law for five years in Boise before moving to New York City for a position with a public utility holding company. After leaving for private practice in 1935, he gained a national reputation representing public utility corporations while a partner in the firm of Reid and Priest. He joined the Virginia law faculty in 1953, and retired from full-time teaching in 1966, continuing as a lecturer & scholar in residence until 1978.

With characteristic vigor, Priest threw himself into teaching, eager to impart his knowledge and expertise in corporate practice to his students. He taught Public Utility Regulations, Corporations, Corporate Finance, Parliamentary Law and Corporate Securities. A lawyer with deep integrity, Priest emphasized to his students the significance of high moral standards in the legal profession. Priest devoted his considerable energy to a number of organizations and causes outside the legal professions, including the world peace movement. He was the first chairman of the national executive council of the United World Federalists. He also served as chairman of the Section of Public Utility Law of the American Bar Association, as president of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni in New York, and as national president of the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity. He received the Man of the Year award from the United World Federalists and was a life member of the American Bar Foundation. He died in 1978.

Arrangement

Within the series, the correspondence has been filed and labeled as Priest had it, i.e., alphabetically by subject and then chronologically. Items obviously misfiled have been put where they belong. Ambiguities and inconsistencies in the filing system were a result of Priest's having had many secretaries, particularly after he began teaching. Consequently, the researcher is advised to examine the whole series in areas of interests or the entire collection, if time permits.

Container List

Series V: American Bar Association

Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
American Bar Association (ABA) (2 folders)
1953-1971
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
ABA Section of Public Utility Law, 1952-1956, 1964
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
ABA - Vincent McDevitt
1953-1954
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
ABA - Jonathan Gibson
1954
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
ABA - William Jameson
1953-1954
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
Phi Beta Kappa Associates, 1953-1954, 1956
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
United Negro College Fund
1953-1963
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
"Corporate Democracy" - Dicta Article and Correspondence
1953

Series VI: Drafts and correspondence regarding Priest's publications and speeches

Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
The Great Ones: Correspondence
1956
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
"Those Dividends Were Not Paid Out of Capital:" Partial Draft and Correspondence, 1957-1958, 1965
Mixed Materials [35007008142444] MSS 79-5, Box 19
Old Hilarity: Typescripts and Correspondence
1963-1970

Series VII: Personal correspondence and records

Mixed Materials [35007008623336] MSS 79-5 Box 27
Bunn, Charles - Priest's tribute upon his death. File also contains correspondence
1965-03
Mixed Materials [35007008623336] MSS 79-5 Box 27
Committee for the Defense of the Constitution By Preserving the Treaty Power - correspondence and draft of paper
1956
Mixed Materials [35007008623336] MSS 79-5 Box 27
Miscellaneous correspondence, speeches, and other materials. File includes: President Johnson's State of the Union Message (1965-01-04); The Inaugural Address of President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1965-01-20); a letter of John Doar, DOJ to Priest re events in Selma, Alabama (1965-03-17); and a thank you letter from Dorothy I. Height, National President of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (1968-12-06)
1954-1968