Practicing law is a tradition for one Ironton family and now, four members of that family have achieved a noteworthy professional accomplishment — together.

Bob Anderson and his son, Craig, and Mack Anderson and his son, Brigham, were all admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court June 8 at a ceremony in Washington D.C.

Bob, Mack and Brigham Anderson all have a private practice in Ironton and are also assistant prosecutors. Craig Anderson is senior counsel for Nationwide Insurance and lives in Columbus.

To be eligible to be admitted, a lawyer must undergo a background check, be in good standing with the state bar association, be nominated by two other legal professionals and must have practiced law for at least three years.

“It was a great experience,” Craig Anderson said. “First it was interesting to see the formalities of the court and how it worked on a day-to-day basis. And it was extra special to be able to do this with the rest of the family. That made it that much more special.”

Bob Anderson noted that when all four Andersons names were read, Chief Justice John Roberts nodded as if he realized that four members of the same family were being admitted at the same time.

“It’s nice to have the distinction of being licensed there but it is unlikely I would ever have a case there,” Bob Anderson said. He has a point: the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear only a few hundred cases of the thousands submitted for its consideration each year.

But Brigham Anderson said he would like to someday be one of those few.

“I was an honor to be admitted and I would like to be able to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court at some point in my career,” Brigham Anderson. “And that I was able to do this with my father, my uncle and my cousin meant a lot to me.”

The Andersons, who are all graduates of the Ohio Northern University law school, were among a group of ONU grads. Fellow alumni recommended them for admission to the supreme court bar.