Edward Buttrick Graves was one of leaders of the corporate bar in Minnesota for most of the first three decades of the last century. But he did not represent railroads, mining companies or other such enterprises; instead he represented minority shareholders in these corporations in suits to protect their interests. Over time he became "perhaps, the best informed lawyer in the Northwest upon the subjects of the rights of minority stockholders."
He died on December 2, 1930, at age seventy-one. In a memorial for the Ramsey County Bar Association on April 4, 1931, he was recalled:
"In presenting a case, his great strength was in the printed page, and no Judge could read his briefs without learning something new about sound law.
"His mental activity was in indefatigable up to the last few weeks of his life. He would frequently, after a long day in his office, returned to his desk in the evening to work until after midnight. His powers of concentration and analysis were equal to his industry, and when it is added that his mental vision was clear and his opinions candid, all of us can readily understand the remarks of a former Chief Justice of this State that 'When Mr. Graves stated a proposition of law to the Court, the Judges were inclined to accept it as accurate.'"
The memorialists cited two of his cases involving the rights of minority stockholders--rare for a bar memorial. But Edward Graves was a rare attorney. Accordingly four of his cases are posted in the Appendix.
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