FISHER & SAULS (#71): If it wasn’t for Louie N. Adcock, Jr., I would have been working at the Public Defender’s Office. Top law firms didn’t often take a chance on unmarried attorneys, perhaps wisely so. Louie had been single when he was hired by Twig Sauls and Charles Fisher in 1956 and he decided to give me a chance. I’m sorry to say, I let him down. Perhaps a married man would have been more focused.
I was doing probate and real estate work, which sounded fine, if a little boring. While I was waiting to take the bar exam, I did the customary clerk/grunt work. I particularly remember working with a client who was the Director of a Funeral Home. A customer of his had died and we were going to go to the home and search for his will and other important papers.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a hazmat suit. The client had died a week before, and the house had been closed up tight with no air-conditioning, since his body was discovered. When we opened the door to the house, I thought I was going to pass out. I managed to stagger away, gagging, but didn’t vomit. It seems the deceased had been bed-ridden, totally bedridden, and with no help. He had two buckets by his bed. The poor man. He used one for his toilet and the other for vomiting.
The Funeral Home Director was evidently somewhat used to bad odors, and with a handkerchief one his nose, he carried the buckets to the back yard, one at a time. Then he made two trips back inside the house to open the windows. After letting the house air for 20 minutes, we began our search. Fortunately, all of the important papers were in the desk, and the search of the house only took about half an hour.
When I was on my way back to the office, I was certain that I would rather be an attorney than a Funeral Home Director. I was very sad to learn a few years later, that the man had committed suicide. At the time I could not understand why anyone would take their own life.
The Florida bar Exam was two days of excruciating headaches, but I passed. I am reminded of a friend that I met on a trip to Dallas. He had organized the trip to help raise money for the first movie I partially financed, “Worm Killer’s Last Spring” (but that is another story). This man was from a prominent family in Philadelphia, had gone to a prestigious law school, was engaged to a former debutant, and had a job with a top law firm in Philadelphia.
His perfect world fell apart when he got a letter informing him that he had failed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam. His father practically disowned him, his fiancee broke off the engagement, and the law firm let him go. He left Philadelphia, moved to St.Petersburg, and became a teacher at a private school. Six months later, he received a letter informing him that there had been a mistake and he had indeed passed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam. He never went back to Philadelphia and never practiced law.
Things improved for me once I passed the bar, and I began to get my own clients. My favorite client was Sacino & Sons Formalwear. I enjoyed working with Ron and his father, and I loved their products. I eventually had not only a tuxedo, but also a white dinner jacket, and white tie and tails. I had a client who was a chef and owned a fine French restaurant on the beach. There was a lot of fun and great food!
Another client that I liked working with was a developer of condominiums. I had been reviewing condominium documents for a Savings & Loan Association the firm represented. Dennis DeLoach had been writing condo docs for our developer client, but left the firm to go out on his own.
I believe the name on the firm at that time was Fisher, Sauls, Adcock, DeLoach & Gowen. There seemed to be a lot of turn over, and I believe a lot of it had to do with money. Charles Fisher and Twig Sauls had retired and their interest in the firm had to be purchased. Also, the firm had opened offices in Seminole and New Port Richey. Money was tight and several attorneys thought they could do better elsewhere.
After Dennis left, Louie met with me to see if he should hire another attorney to finish the condo docs, or if I thought I could do them. I knew I could and told him so. I also told him that the condo docs Dennis had written were from old forms, and I had seen much better condo docs in my work for the Savings & Loan Association. I asked if I could start from scratch and he agreed.
I don’t think the firm realized how much time was involved in starting over with the condo docs, and this was part of my downfall. I was also a poor proofreader, as you may have noticed by the typos in my stories, and relied too much upon my secretary. In at least one instance, I put my needs before those of the law firm. I also didn’t like the hours and the pay.
When I was hired, I was told the office hours were from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, although attorneys were expected to be in the office by 8:30 in order to be ready for the 9:00 client. I was also told we were expected to work until the work was finished. This usually meant coming in before 8:30, working until 6:30 or 7:00 pm, and working at least half a day on Saturdays.Louie Adcock was notorious for coming to work by 5:30 am. I remember coming to the Seminole office one morning on the dot of 8:30. I was greeted by Bob Decker, a great guy and I believe a former Marine, with “Good afternoon Mr. Simmons.” No hard feelings at all Bob, but I think that was when it started to sink in that this might not be the job for me.
It has been pointed out that at times I seem to make light of attorneys and if so I apologize. I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest lawyers in our area. These were brilliant men with keen minds and the highest integrity. The older attorneys were refined gentlemen, with grace and style. The young lawyers I worked with were smart and hard working, but still fun to be around. Friends that I respected immensely became judges. I am very proud of my friends that are lawyers. Many fine lawyers passed in and out of the doors of Fisher & Sauls. I apologize to Louie Adcock that I wasn’t one of them.
All in all, I believe 1975 was a good year to practice law. I wasn’t aware then of many lawyer jokes or ambulance chasers. Lawyers didn’t advertise on billboards, park benches, buses, and taxis. Lawyers didn’t bombard you with TV ads 24 hours a day. The problem may have started when more law schools opened, and law schools graduated more and more lawyers.
If you are a young person considering a career in law, please do your research. We always need good people ready to fight for right and equality. We don’t need any more personal injury attorneys on TV or attorneys ready to defend obvious lies.
My dear friend Tom Paxton may have put it best with the title song to his 1985 album, “ONE MILLION LAWYERS And Other Disasters.” You are welcome to sing along!
