There are good lawyers

Being a lawyer has put me in an unenviable position.  Lawyers used to be respected and generally were financially well-off.  Lawyers no longer are respected.  I can't argue the point and I even share in the jokes.  My profession deserves it.  There are too many in the profession who put money ahead of doing what is right.  There are too many who have lost the perspective of honesty ahead of winning cases.  They no longer stand in a position to deserve respect.

Fortunately, though, those attorneys do not represent the majority.  And, in most of my career, I had the privilege of working with great lawyers.  Some are very dear to me.  I consider them friends.

One of the good guys is a man named Gary Barr.  Gary was an attorney in the Attorney General's Office when I first became acquainted with him.  By the time I switched to Child Protection, he had become part of a law firm handling the defense end of those cases.  Gary was a good lawyer in skill and in character.  He required that I do my job and wasn't afraid to challenge me.  Even when he did, though, we still remained friends.  He was firm with his clients, very straight with them.  Many of them were not used to that and did not understand how lucky they were to have him as their attorney.  He made it very clear what the expectations and the results would be.

Gary had a great sense of humor.  He used that humor well.

Unfortunately, Gary is no longer with us.  He passed away last month.  He had been fighting cancer for a while.  I was away on our mission when things got bad for him and did not realize it when we returned.  The legal profession will miss Gary.  I know that I do.