Dear Mrs. President:

I want to thank you for your service to The Missouri Bar. I hope your children are almost grown or your husband is the primary parent or you are in for a rough year. (I am the back up parent and still sometimes feel overwhelmed by my parenting responsibilities.)

You wanted to hear from your fellow practitioners on why we practice law so I am sharing some of my reasons with you.

First, lawyers need to ask themselves why they became lawyers. I wanted to be a lawyer since second grade. I became a lawyer to help people. I am now trying to limit the number of people I help to those who can afford to pay me. However, I still find myself drawn to helping people when I know the prospects of being paid are slim. I am trying hard not do this because if I am working for free I would rather spend time with my wife and kids, but it is a hard habit to break.

One of the things that prompted me to be a lawyer was that so many of my childhood heroes were lawyers. I know this may seem strange, but my childhood heroes were not athletes, but rather historical figures. The early patriots have always been my heroes. (I was a patriot before it became cool again, i.e., post 9-11-01). The forefathers were not only interested in themselves, but in a greater good for the entire community.

I am delighted to see your emphasis of the lawyer’s role in the professional, civic and charitable community. I probably serve on way too many boards and committees. However, I am as passionate about community service as I am about the practice of law. The amazing thing is that just by showing up I have influenced the future of my community. This is the legacy that I hope to leave my children and my fellow man. I want to leave the community in a better state than it was left to me. That is a tall order given the efforts of many of our local heroes.

I love the practice of law. Yes, I sometimes get tired and burned out. On a few rare occasions I have difficult clients who make it not fun. But, in general, I get great satisfaction from my profession. I hope you have a rewarding year as president.

James (C. Thomas, III)
Watkins, Boulware, Lucas, Miner, Murphy & Taylor, LLP
Kansas City