The morning paper told us that the legendary lawyer Joe Jamail died the other day. I lived in Houston during the time that he was making that legend, and everyone, I mean everyone, had a Joe Jamail story.
I attended a Christmas party where there were a bunch of people from the legal profession present and struck up a conversation with the husband of a lady who was a clerk in one of the civil courts. He told about how Jamail had a case in that court and requested a copy of a file from the clerk. She complied.
A few days later a case of scotch arrived at their house courtesy of Joe Jamail. Neither Jamail nor the clerk had done anything illegal. It wasn't a bribe. It was grease.
Here's another one. Jamail was suing the pants off someone, and the defense attorney was gamely trying to keep the jury award low. The defense attorney contended that the plaintiff was asking for more than they expected to receive, and he told a heartwarming story about how he worked for his father as a child. When it came time to be paid he asked to be paid for more work than he did knowing his dad wouldn't give him all the money he asked for.
So when it came time for Jamail's summation he said about the other attorney, "He told us right here that he lied to his own father!"
Maybe someone will compile all the Joe Jamail stories for an entertaining blog post.
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