William Wemple was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

.

Biography

Wemple was born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on November 3, 1912. He attended the Wardlaw School

Wardlaw-Hartridge School

The Wardlaw-Hartridge School is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational day school located in Edison, New Jersey, United States, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is commonly referred to as Wardlaw or W-H...

 1924-28, and then the Loomis School

Loomis Chaffee

The Loomis Chaffee School is a premier coeducational boarding school for grades 9–12 and postgraduates located on a 300-plus acre campus in the Connecticut River Valley in Windsor, Connecticut, six miles north of Hartford...

, graduating in 1930. He then attended Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, receiving his A.B. in 1934. During his time in college, he was captain of the Harvard soccer team in 1933. He then enrolled in Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...

 and received his LL.B. in 1937. He was admitted to the bar of New York State in 1938.

In August 1937, Wemple joined the New York law firm

Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...

 of Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a prominent American law firm based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the country, Cravath was founded in 1819 and consistently ranks first among the world's most prestigious law firms according to a survey of partners,...

. He worked there until April 1942.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Wemple served in the United States Department of the Navy

United States Department of the Navy

The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...

's Office of General Counsel (DON-OGC) beginning in April 1942. He began as Assistant Counsel of the Bureau of Aeronautics

Bureau of Aeronautics

The Bureau of Aeronautics was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for Naval Aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" for the design, procurement, and support of Naval aircraft and related systems...

, then became Counsel of the Bureau. He was then promoted to Assistant General Counsel of the Navy, and finally, from July 27, 1946 to August 23, 1946, he was General Counsel of the Navy

General Counsel of the Navy

The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the Secretary of the Navy. The Office of the General Counsel of the Navy provides legal advice to the Secretary, the Under Secretary of the...

. During his time at DON-OGC, Wemple also served in the United States Navy Reserve

United States Navy Reserve

The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...

, becoming a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in January 1943 and then a Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 in September 1943. He was released from the Navy Reserve.

Upon leaving the Department of the Navy in 1946, Wemple became a partner at Root, Ballantine, Harlan, Bushby, & Palmer (the predecessor firm of Dewey Ballantine

Dewey Ballantine

Dewey Ballantine LLP was a white shoe corporate law firm headquartered in New York City. In 2007, Dewey Ballantine merged with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae to form Dewey & LeBoeuf...

).