Proudest Day In My Professional Life
It was not the day I was first admitted to practice, or the day I won my first jury trial, or the day I argued at the United States Supreme Court. It was this morning.
I was coming home from a dinner meeting at the Cleveland Committee on World Affairs. I was driving our small Hyundai and was the first car in line exiting the expressway. Turning right on red is prohibited. As I moved forward slowly waiting for the light to change, the driver behind me accelerated more than he intended, and hit the back of my car.
We got out and he was very gracious, conceding he was at fault. He was also concerned as to whether I was hurt, which I assured him I was not. Two police cars that had stopped someone across the road saw the incident and came over.
When the police arrived he was very explicit concerning his fault, violating every rule that lawyers and insurers had developed. It was dark and there was no apparent damage, but we agreed that I should confirm that fact. He had voluntarily given me his contact information. We signed a document agreeing not to file a formal complaint—believing we could work this out fairly.
The next day I noticed a slight bend in the plastic bumper and that one of the fasteners was sheared. I was most concerned that the impact had violated the integrity of the rust-proofing. I called the fellow who hit me and left a message asking him to send me his e-mail so I could send him a picture so he could see there really was a problem. I also told him I was intending to take the car to the Hyundai dealer for a repair quote, but wanted to clear it with him first.
He promptly returned my call, but I was not around and a visit from a former law school classmate and his wife delayed my return call. He called this morning before I could return his call —I was surprised that the caller ID identified him as a lawyer from a large firm. … He was acting like a responsible human being. Before I could say anything he said he did not need a picture just send him the bill. I said that I would not do that, I would get an estimate from the dealer first to insure that he felt it was fair and did not have better alternative—then I apologized for not getting back to him sooner telling him a law school classmate and his wife were visiting and I had become distracted.
The silence was amazing as he realized I was a lawyer too – to his surprise I was acting like a responsible human being. He had accepted his responsibility for fault—I had accepted my responsibility for not abusing that fact. Why did I not see this conduct in the profession before I retired; I hope civility is returning to the profession, and this experience not was merely an aberration.
