Social media for lawyers in rural America

Birmingham Attorney, Keith Lee (@associatesmind), shared some wonderful reflections on practicing in a rural area in a post at Above the Law yesterday.

Before my partners and I started our own firm, I worked for a small insurance defense firm. It was a statewide practice, as most insurance firms are. Often times I would have to drive hours to some small county in the state for a 20-minute hearing, then get back in the car and drive right back.

I was on the plaintiff’s side, but like Lee, I enjoyed my time alone in the car listening to ball games or cassette tapes. Later on I had a small TV plugged into the cigarette light so I could listen to (not watch) Gerry Spence’s trial lawyer tapes.

I enjoyed my trips to Viroqua, Sparta, Tomah, Prairie du Chien, Alma, Lancaster, Monroe, Mauston, Elkhorn, Neilsville, Menominee, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and more. Without cell phones yet, there was the quite of getting away. At most, I’d dictate a memo, letter, or two.

When I traded in my GMC Jimmy for the Miata, I got German made snow tires for a sports car from my client, Bruce, who owned the retread tire shop in Viroqua. When I got the car sideways in the snow on I-90 on my way to Milwaukee, Bruce was right, I could straighten the car ought quickly with those tires. You haven’t lived till you look straight out your side window and see a semi baring down from a hundred yards.

Like Lee, I saw it a benefit, not a burden, to have a rural trial law practice requiring me to travel to rural towns and the century old courthouses which came with them.

Often courthouses sat on a square in the middle of town, surrounded by shops, taverns, and restaurants. In other communities the old courthouse was shuttered and replaced by “county buildings” on the edge of town, not far from the new Walmart.

Lee nails the social aspect of traveling the circuit.

I always purposely set out an hour early for such hearings so that I could find a local meat and three and grab lunch. Inside, the restaurant was half-filled with people with “Juror” stickers on. They had all walked down from the courthouse en masse for lunch. From the looks of the other patrons in the restaurant, so had half the lawyers and courthouse personnel. People spoke of window shopping, and the local football team, and gossip and scandal of some sort. Here was the original social media. People sitting in their local diner, talking about their community. Not hashtags or selfies. Just people spending time with each other and strengthening their relationships.

I also took the opportunity of stopping in to see clients I had worked with, whose businesses were not in our town. Even if I only did the trial work for my partner’s clients, why not stop to see Tim at the bank in De Soto or Jim at the garment company in Marshfield. Getting to know clients in their small towns seemed to be what life was all about as a lawyer.

Like Lee, I took in the history and awe of each courthouse.

They’re usually filled with dedications, pictures, and plaques dedicated to judges and lawyers no one outside of these small communities will ever know. They didn’t make their way onto the national stage. They didn’t change the world in any significant way. What they did was make meaningful, important contributions to their community, affecting the lives of the people around them. Lending a helping hand, dedicating their lives to their clients or fellow citizens, serving without need for recognition. Nothing left but a plaque on the wall, stating that they were honorable men and women, left for future lawyers like me to read.

While out running yesterday morning I remembered how important it was practicing law to really get to know clients and their surrounds. Not over work, but as real people over a beer.

Today, folks, me included, can be guilty of being glued to a computer, eating lunch at their desks, and not making the time to take a half day to get out of town and meet a client or a source of referrals. Maybe it’s as little as a detour on the way back to the office or home.

Take in all the people and surroundings when you do. Get a feel for other folks and the enjoyment they’re having and the challenges they face.

I’m with Lee, “I’ll take that over a high Klout score any day.”