I had the privilege of working with Staughton, Alice Lynd, Donald Griesmann, and all the staff at Northeast Ohio Legal Services for a little over a year in the mid-1990’s. Staughton oversaw my work as an intern working on administrative law cases in the employment and labor arena.
Friends and family quickly brought me up to speed on what they knew of Staughton from newspapers and television. In short, he represented whatever they feared, because he was a college professor, pacifist, lawyer, and activist. Those were many boxes and one of them was bound to tick you off. Unless you met Staughton.
To be clear, most of those friends and family probably thought my taking on legal services work was a foregone conclusion. I arrived at law school after a number of years working in theatre.
In person, Staughton had a disconcerting ability to listen to what you said. Then, he mostly avoided calling out your drivel. Instead, he helped you think it through. Most surprisingly, he took on board your thoughts.
This acceptance, this ability to have a conversation, was rare enough that I take it as the primary gift I received during my time at NOLS. Our fellow law practitioners in family and discrimination practice were incredible heroes. Seeing the employment practice in the same league took some time. There is nothing like attending law school to make you forget how important fighting for a client’s illegally withheld paycheck can be.
We shared a similar sense of humor, which is always key to greasing the wheels of friendship. One weekend, Staughton and I made time to attend a local production of a comedy play about the Marx Brothers, which may well encapsulate my other takeaway from that time with Staughton.
Famously, Groucho said, “I wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have me as a member.” Staughton refused any label even as his writings made clear none was appropriate. Whether you considered yourself a socialist or a capitalist, Staughton made those words irrelevant. You only needed to be interested in fairness, going so far as to discuss even the meaning of that word, as long as you moved past definitions and onto actions.
He turned out to be anything but what people expected. His wonderful gift for listening might mean that he would accept some of your ideas. In practice (because Staughton was a doer), Staughton walked his own path. Labels were and are for those who need the world to be black and white. Ideas should be in service of actions.
I have been grieving since learning of Staughton’s passing. I had recently reread some of his writings and been in touch. The privilege of brief time together had been entirely mine. The world needs every last person who listens, who reaches out to the other, and who works to make our time together better.
