George Lemon: My Friend

George Lemon was my mentor.  George Lemon was my friend.  George Lemon was one of the most decent and good men that I have ever known.  George Lemon was a lawyer from Winnsboro, Texas that passed away on Friday, February 23, 2007.  He was 74 years old.  He was a solo practitioner.  He was involved in a auto accident while doing his job as a lawyer in rural East Texas.

I was inspired this morning by the WSJ Law Blog's reporting on Stanley Sporkin starting a solo practice at the age of 75.  It reminded me of conversations with George in the last year.  He had thought about winding down his solo practice and transferring his title agencies because he was worried about his age and the health of those in his family.  He asked me if I was interested in taking them over.  I told him I would be honored if that is what he wanted to do.  But, I did not want to push him.  I did not want to change the relationship from one that had been based upon friendship and admiration for nearly 20 years to one that appeared to be motivated by some sort some of opportunistic business sense.  I knew he would have a lot of attorneys and people who wanted to deal with him in this sense, but he did not need this from me.  I was determined not to push.  Besides, I could tell that as much as he thought about the practicalities of the situation, he did not, in his heart, want to stop practicing.  My advice to George was that he still had it in him to represent and help people, and he only needed to stop if he truly wanted to do so.

With that backdrop, let me tell you what I know about George.  He was not a lawyer that was adversarial.  He believed in solutions.  He believed in remedies.  He believed in redemption.  Whether feeling poorly and good he always had a smile on his face.  He was always kind.  He was always courteous.  He felt blessed to be where he was in life.

When I started practicing law, and did not know what I was doing, I ran into George at the courthouse.  He became a mentor to me of his own volition.  He mentored me in his kind and quiet way about law, but he more mentored me in how to get along and deal with people.  How to comport myself properly.  How to accept what was before me.  More importantly, he taught me about the importance of family, friends and faith.

George was and is a blessing.

In the old days (and until I moved to the Houston area) we would always have the huge dockets at the bankruptcy courts in Tyler and Plano, Texas.  About twice a month George and I (sometimes with a group) would go to lunch, or sometimes just sit on the antechamber bench at the courthouse.  But, we always had this time to share.

Most often we would talk about family.  We both had large families.  His was larger and older than mine. We spoke often about the importance of religion in raising children.  The trials and tribulations of running a practice and tending to the more important needs of family.  Most importantly we spoke about faith and the need not to get so wrapped up in the trappings of success.  He spoke from experience.  As I think back about it, I should have listen harder to what he was saying.

Since moving to the Houston, Texas area I have not gotten the opportunity to sit and share with George like I would have wanted.  And, I miss it.  In his quiet and gentle voice he always gave me subtle advice that I dearly needed.  Not always legal advice.  Sometimes personal advice.  Fatherly advice.  But, it was always related.  My phone calls with him were too infrequent after I moved.

Some part of me thinks that I lost a wonderful opportunity by not pushing him on his offer for his practice and title agencies, but I do not care.  The wonderful opportunity I have lost is just sitting and sharing with George about our large families, our faith, the practice of law in rural East Texas, the differences you can make in the lives of people, and how to live decent and respectable lives.

To that extent I wanted you all to know just a little about George Lemon..my friend and mentor in life.

Thank you George.