The original Voluntary Committee of Lawyers (VCL) was founded in 1927 to bring about the repeal of prohibition and the Volstead Act. With its urging, the American Bar Association called for repeal in 1928. Under the leadership of Joseph H. Choate, Jr., lawyers in every state were actively involved in working to bring about repeal, which occurred in 1933. At that time, the VCL closed its books and ceased to exist.
The modern Voluntary Committee of Lawyers was incorporated in 1996, established through its Founding Committee, including former U.S. Attorneys General Elliot Richardson and Nicholas Katzenbach, former American Bar Association President George Bushnell, former Third Federal Circuit Chief Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. and the celebrated labor lawyer Theodore W. Kheel. The modern VCL was inspired by the same group of its name, but now focuses on the modern war on drugs.
Today the VCL is an association of lawyers and judges who share misgivings about the wisdom and consequences of the perpetual War on Drugs. The VCL is promoting, both within the legal profession and beyond, an informed and honest examination of the costs of current drug policies in economic, political and social terms. The VCL currently works by establishing projects or committees within organized bar associations, and as a membership association for lawyers and judges.