In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared May 1 to be Law Day in the U.S. Each year, the American Bar Association selects a theme to showcase an important legal issue with the intention of spotlighting the law and/or legal processes.
For 2025, the ABA chose The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One (e pluribus unum) as its theme. This denotes a focus on the Constitution’s role in uniting the nation while emphasizing the importance of bridging our differences and creating a unified society.
It is likely no coincidence that the ABA chose this theme as a reminder to us all that, despite our differences, we are still and must remain one nation, one community and one people.
“E pluribus unum” appears on the Great Seal of the United States; it is a phrase we are all familiar with, as it appears on all coins used in American commerce.
E pluribus unum is a Latin phrase that means “out of many, one.” Originally intended to symbolize the 13 colonies coming together to form one nation, in modern times the motto has come to symbolize the “melting pot” that is American culture – that is, our unique ability to assemble a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences into one coherent, unified vision that we know as America.
This phrase carries heightened importance in an inherently diverse field, as the practice of law has evolved to become. More than ever, the legal community represents an increasingly wide spectrum of the community at-large.
Our legal system functions at its peak when it represents each and every community and cause, infusing a multitude of perspectives to create solutions for a vast continuum of clients and interests.
Despite this vast array of perspectives and experiences, those in the legal profession are unified by common commitments: serving the public, serving their clients and vigorously adhering to the pursuit of justice and the rule of law.
The diversity of thoughts, arguments, strategies and perspectives is an essential aspect of the practice of law. And yet this diversity does not detract from the nation’s mission statement of e pluribus unum – instead, it reinforces this statement by showing that, despite these differences and disagreements, we unify behind the common principles of the profession. We each play our part in the “melting pot” that is the modern American legal system.
As such, our community’s diversity is among the most important strengths we harness to pursue justice.
To continue the pursuit of this ideal of e pluribus unum, the legal profession must continue its positive trend of recent years wherein more and more voices are represented within the community. To truly be a society that is “out of many, one,” we must continue to ensure that our collective actions positively represent both the individual and the community.
E pluribus unum was an ideal laid out by our predecessors, not to require uniformity but rather to realize that, no matter our differences, we must unify as one people.
Ultimately, there is perhaps no greater realization of this ideal than our legal system. As members of this community, it is our duty to further this ideal by continuing to encourage the emergence of new voices and new perspectives and incorporating these voices and perspectives into our community, allowing us to truly become a society that is “out of many, one.”
Kimberly Woods is a partner attorney at Boyd & Jenerette in Jacksonville.