Douglas Arant

William Douglas Arant (born May 19, 1897 in Waverly, Lee County – died October 1987) was a leading Birmingham attorney, partner in the firm of Tilman, Bradley and Baldwin now known as Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

William, called Douglas, was born on a small Lee County farm to William Jackson and Emma Baker Arant. He finished high school in 1914 and then received a scholarship given by General and Mrs R. D. Johnston, which he applied to his studies at the University of Virginia. He further supplemented his tuition by working odd jobs, including a term spent recording the parallax of fixed stars in the university observatory three nights a week.

In May 1918 his studies were interrupted by World War I. He went to Atlanta hoping to enlist as a Navy flier, but his eyesight was poor, so he joined the Army instead. He was sent to Fort Oglethorpe where he was enrolled in a regular army cavalry unit, then sent to a ranch in Texas and to Camp Clark, where he, as the only one in his battery who could read and write, was made Clerk. He attended Officers Candidate Training School at Camp Taylor, Kentucky, and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1919.

Returning to Charlottesville that year, he completed his bachelor of science and master of science degrees. In 1923 he received his law degree, magna cum laude at Yale University, where he, like his older brother Herschel, served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. He also worked as an instructor in political science during summer terms. He was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1923 and in 1927 he joined the firm of Tilman, Bradley and Baldwin.

Between 1933 and 1945, Arant served as either counsel to, or a member of, a number of agencies. He became special assistant to the United States Attorney General and chief counsel for the Petroleum Administration Board, National Recovery Administration, Washington, D.C. in 1933. The next year he served as chairman of the Regional Labor Board, Sixth District, National Recovery Administration, and in 1942 was the public member for the Fourth Regional Labor Board in Atlanta. Arant was also a member of the Board of Appeals, District Two, Alabama Selective Service System from 1940 to 1945. He was appointed to the US Postal Commission by President Richard Nixon during the tenure of Postmaster General Winton Blount.

Although a democrat and a strong supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, he did agree to chair the National Committee for Independent Courts which opposed the president's attempts to pack the Supreme Court with partisan appointees. In 1953, at the request of the Attorney General, Arant agreed to serve as a member of the National Committee To Study The Antitrust Laws. The Committee issued its influential Report on the proper interpretation and application of the antitrust statutes (with recommendations for changes) in 1958.

Sources

• http://www.alabar.org/members/hallfame/arant.cfm
• "Untitled" -- unpublished speech given by Douglas'sister at his 79th birthday party <part of the Bradley Arant Rose & White Historical Archive>.
• "William Douglas Arant" -- unpublished speech given to honor Mr. Arant's induction into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame <part of the Bradley Arant Rose & White Historical Archive>
• LPR194 - Alabama Department of Archives and History
• Congressional Record__ Senate - November 30, 1987 (S16734)