A Jealous Mistress Indeed...

The saying in law school is that the law is a jealous mistress. I came into my profession with my eyes wide open and I know the dangers that this stressful life can pose. We are very good at ignoring our own needs to focus on the needs of every one else. We are in a service business and the client comes first. We don't complain because we knew this is what life would be when we took the gamble to do what we love in the first place. We tell ourselves that it can't happen to us and that we can bear anything, and then it happens to a friend.

John was a friend of mine. He was a great lawyer, not for the law that he knew, but for the common sense that he had. He was a great lawyer for his professionalism and his ethical behavior. He practiced law with the attitude that this is a noble profession and is never a job. He was one of the first people to say hello to me in 1997 when I came to his town as an intern for the District Attorney's Office. He was always available to me when I had a question and he was always gracious to me. Even later in my career, he would help me cover things in his town and I would help him in mine.

I've thought a lot about him today because he died this morning at the age of 55 years old of an aneurysm. And then I began to think of all of my colleagues that I've lost over the past two years, Mitch who died of a heart attack at the age of 43 two days before Christmas, my friend who died in a plane crash in October at the age of 35, my friend in Oklahoma City who died of a single gunshot wound to the head from his own hand last year at the age of 46 and the three law school class mates that we've lost to cancer, heart attack and suicide. Those classmates were all the same age as me. According to my bar association, my profession loses one colleague per month from suicide. 3 per month from cancer and a striking 5 per month from heart attacks.

I've met most of them, even if it was just a short conversation at a conference over a drink. I've tried cases against a few of them. I'll never forget Mitch, he and I were having fun trying a preliminary hearing in Court on December 22, 2005 against one another. After it was over, He slapped me on the shoulder and said "Merry Christmas Jason, see you in January." 12 hours later, he was dead. Each time we lose one, it hurts a little, but today it hurt a lot. John was a kind and decent person who just happened to be a lawyer. If they are in the business of killing lawyers off, they sure killed the wrong one today.

So long..

I'll miss you.