2. The First Bickers & Bickers

1986 Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association Directory.

As we start the process of closing our law firm, my thoughts take me to the the brief time 30 years ago when my father and I formed the first Bickers & Bickers in Memphis, Tennessee.  I was fresh out of law school in 1983 but had worked for many years as an insurance adjuster while taking classes at night.  My father had been an attorney working as a solo practitioner since the mid-1960's.  In 1984 we decided to work together and shared an office on the 7th floor of the old Dermon Building in downtown Memphis.  My mother, as she had for my father, served as our legal secretary.

I enjoyed that period of time as I learned a great deal of practical information about being a lawyer that is not taught in law school.  My father also appreciated learning from me and being brought up-to-date on the law.  We developed a mutual respect and relied on each others' strengths.  Being an attorney seemed a little less scary and I looked forward to coming into the office each day.

Unfortunately, none of this would last.  There were severe restrictions on lawyer advertising back then and it was extremely difficult to bring in new clients.  Late in 1985 I moved on to other jobs in the legal field, but my father continued to practice law on his own until he passed away in 1998. The following year I joined my wife's thriving law practice in Murrysville and the second Bickers & Bickers was born.

My partnership with my father only lasted a tenth as long as the partnership with my wife, but the memory of that time was no less enduring.