Within a year, a series of cases fell into the hands of the two
lawyers. These cases include Frontiero v. Laird
and Cook v. Advertiser Company. The case of Frontiero
v. Laird was argued by Joe Levin in the Supreme Court of the
United States.
All these cases, especially ones like Smith v. YMCA and Cook
v. Advertiser Company upset the people of Montgomery, Alabama.
The Dees family even showed up at Morris' office to once again
use the term 'nigger lover'. This time however, the term was applied
at him and not his father.
"At one point, they came to my office and chided me for my
'nigger loving ways' and told me that if Daddy were alive he'd
be ashamed at the dishonor I had brought to the Dees family. 'If
you intend to keep doing this', they said, 'change your name.'
I told Uncle Lucien to close the door and asked them to sit
down. I knew my daddy had not been close to his brothers. Some
people in the Mount said my uncles were jealous of Daddy's moderate
success. Still, I knew he loved them. Once, one or our close relatives
had embezzled money from an employer and had been facing arrest
if the funds weren't repaid. I quietly reminded them that Daddy
had provided most of the money to save the family name from disgrace.
I also reminded Lucien that when I was a small boy, he had told
me that my daddy was a 'nigger lover.' I told them that they never
really knew my daddy and had no idea what he would say to me today.
I excused myself for an urgent call, and when I returned, they
were gone." (131)
After a year of precedent setting cases, Joe Levin and Morris
Dees decided 
to
stop trying cases that did pay. They figured that the paying cases
were not as interesting and challenging, and most of all - not
as important. They wanted to focus on basic rights as freedom
of speech and religion and to fight for justice and equality.
Many of the recent acts passed by Congress including the Civil
Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had not been put into effect
in the South.
But there was a problem in founding a non-profit law center.
Morris was a self-made millionaire, but Joe still needed a salary.
So Morris put his writing and marketing skills back into gear
and began writing to people across the country. They wrote letters
to other activists around the country describing cases and the
need for financial support. It worked. People responded and donated
money.
