© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Forrest and Paula Hinton
It was always clear, as a child, that my brother and I had no free will until we had obtained our law degrees from the University of Alabama. After that had been accomplished, we could decide what we wanted to do with our lives. Being dutiful children born in the 1950s we recognized that we had no choice and marched down our paths to that end. What a great path it has been.
Our father, Jimmie Hinton, was also told as a child by his mother that he would be a lawyer. Pauline Britton Hinton had a sixth-grade education and worked with our grandfather running a general store in Anniston, Alabama. She saw the respect that attorneys received in the local community. She wanted that for her only child, particularly after he contracted polio and was “different” from the other local boys who could play sports and run in the fields. My grandmother never lived to see him graduate from the University of Alabama School of Law, but he found his true calling. Our Dad loved his profession and would have made her proud in his career. He wanted his children to love the law as much as he did.
Dad died in 1984 in the prime of his career and his funeral was held at the WPA-built chapel at Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden, Alabama. I can remember the packed sanctuary with standing room only and people waiting outside to follow the congregation to the graveside. True love and respect were shown in that room for the man we called “Daddy”. One judge who spoke said, “Jimmie Hinton was legal services before there were legal services in Alabama.” His children and wife would attest to that based on fees he often either didn’t receive or he would take in the form of vegetables and other items.
Much of what Dad did was to protect and fight for the underdog, the people who were down on their luck and simply lacked the resources to stand up for themselves. He represented people whom others would turn away, either because they had no money, had committed horrendous crimes, or had a cause others would not support. That might be the murderer on Sand Mountain who killed his cousin for $32, the transgendered chicken plucker who lost his job at the plant, or the local dirty book store who needed its First Amendment rights protected. Dad was always there.
Our summer vacations often included a stop at Atmore Prison on the way to the “Red Neck Riviera” for a long weekend, never an entire week. He always took lawbooks with him on those short vacations. My Mom and we children sat in the hot car under the steaming south Alabama sun, while Dad visited his clients who were serving time there.
Dad never had any notion that we would practice law with him. He had tried partnerships over the years, but always found his way back to the solo practice of “James F. Hinton, Attorney at Law”. He had his own way of doing things, and collaboration was not his strong suit. He wanted us to be lawyers, but made it clear we were not welcome to practice with him back in Gadsden. He urged us to get experience in one of those “lace curtain law firms” in order to have a secure future.
Our father gave us lots of advice over the years, both personal and professional. The older we get, the more we appreciate just how wise most, if not all, of that advice was. There were three bits of advice that have always served us well in our law practices.
NEVER PUT ANYTHING IN WRITING, UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST. Our father’s years in the courtroom, as a trial lawyer, taught him that people and businesses were often undone by their own words in documents and correspondence. For that reason, he preached that, most of the time, individuals should keep things to themselves.
“Bite your tongue, put down your pen, and stay away from the typewriter!” In today’s world, he would have said, “Get away from the computer keyboard and stay off social media!”
ALWAYS CHECK THE RULES AND THE CODE FIRST. Our father actually had a small sign on his desk on which those words were emblazoned. He often told us that he had seen many a fine attorney done in by their ignorance of, or disregard for, procedural rules and substantive statutes. Often, he said, the simple answer to a seemingly complex legal question was right there in the state code or the rules of civil and criminal procedure. Deadlines, too, were found in both rules and laws. “Being late is unforgivable in law practice. Not only in terms of arriving at court on time, but also filing a lawsuit or an appeal for your client.”
MAKE FRIENDS IN EVERY CLERK’S OFFICE BY BEING COURTEOUS, RESPECTFUL, AND PATIENT. According to our Dad, the pathway to a successful law practice leads through the clerks’ offices. He was emphatic that any lawyer worth her or his salt must respect the personnel in every clerk’s office where pleadings were filed and information was sought. “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” he counseled. “They can make or break you.” “Simple courtesy and kindness go a long way in accomplishing what is necessary to move your cases along.” Truer words were never spoken!
Thank you Dad. We remember.
Love,
Forrest and Paula
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