Jack of all trades

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Superlatives are easy to find when asking about the contribu­tions of Jack L. Harris to the Vir­ginia Trial Lawyers Association.

“Stellar.” “Legend.” “A perfect fit for the job.”

The accolades flow when you ask colleagues and co-workers about Har­ris and his 38 years of service to the bar and the ideal of justice.

At the just-completed VTLA annu­al convention at The Homestead, the association gave Harris, 68, its high­est honor — the Distinguished Service Award.

The retiring executive director of the VTLA leaves a legacy of vision and advocacy that changed laws, aided the helpless and built vital organiza­tions, often while shining the spotlight on other leaders, according to those who have worked with him.

Harris has administered the VTLA for 25 years since taking office in 1990, with a one year diversion as manager of a ma­jor law office.

Administering an organization of vol­unteer professionals is never easy, but tri­al lawyers are known to be a breed apart.

“Some of us have egos. You know how it is with us trial lawyers,” said former VTLA president Thomas J. Curcio.

VTLA members are both solos and members of firms large and small. Some, especially those from the Richmond and Tidewater areas, are direct competitors in the personal injury marketplace.

“Jack’s managed to work with them all,” Curcio said. He handled the task with “grace and style and good humor,” Curcio added. “I’ve never seen him lose his temper.”

As only the second long-term execu­tive director at the VTLA, Harris was re­sponsible for its growth and development into a healthy and respected voice for the plaintiff’s bar, Curcio said.

With Harris in office, the VTLA added additional practice sections, including criminal law and domestic relations, to grow the membership, VTLA leaders said.

VTLA past president John E. Lichten­stein praised Harris’ “phenomenal work ethic.”

“He has incredible energy and commit­ment. That’s what made him so success­ful,” Lichtenstein said. “He is the unusu­al union of intellect, strength, savvy and compassion,” Lichtenstein added.

Harris was a steady hand, said former VTLA president W. Coleman Allen Jr., pointing to the longevity of other staff members in the association office. Allen noted that Harris early on pushed to cre­ate a pension plan for other staff mem­bers, not just the executive director.

And Harris was the single most import­ant factor in the VTLA’s growth, Allen added.

“He has that wonderful, diplomatic manner,” Allen said.

During Harris’ tenure, the VTLA also expanded its amicus curiae, legislative and political action programs, including the group’s support of indigent defense funding.

Not every state has such a healthy and esteemed plaintiff’s bar organization.

“The VTLA is in the very top tier” among statewide personal injury bars, Harris said.

A collaborative approach

Cordial relations with other groups is a hallmark of Harris’ work. Harris has been witness to, and to some extent cred­ited with, a strengthening of ties between Virginia’s statewide bar groups over the past several decades.

Once marked by jealousy and occa­sional sniping, the relationships among the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association, the VTLA and the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys now are marked by collaboration and cooperation, bar leaders said.

The executive directors of the four groups regularly get together for lunch to share information on projects and po­sitions.

“There’s a lot of stuff we can all get done when we’re all on the same page,” Harris said.

“We talk about projects for collabora­tion,” said VBA executive director Yvonne C. McGhee. Other plans are shared for discussion about cooperation, if possible, or just an understanding of the various groups’ positions, she added.

“He, in my mind, is a legend in the legal community,” McGhee said.

She said Harris had mentored her over the past four years, after she moved from director of the Fairfax Bar Association to her executive position with the statewide VBA.

“I value his friendship,” McGhee said.

The bar leader meetings are “almost like an executive director support group,” quipped Jill Wells Nunnally of the VADA. “He’s been nothing but a gentleman in sharing ideas and communication,” she said of Harris.

Harris’ service to the VTLA has only one gap in 26 years. There was a one-year hiatus when Harris departed in 2001 to run the office of several of its staunchest members at the Richmond firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen.

The brief exodus ended without any­one’s hard feelings, it appeared.

“He did a great job at my firm,” Allen said.

“I’m really glad I did it, in the sense that I learned a lot in that year,” Harris said.

The experience exposed Harris to re­lationships among firm partners and the value of consensus, Allen said.

“He was a better executive director at VTLA than he had been before. He was a stronger leader when he went back,” Al­len said.

Legal aid veteran

Harris’ service to the bar is rooted in his nearly 11 years as executive director of the Legal Services Corporation of Vir­ginia, the funding arm of Virginia’s legal aid offices.

While at the LSCV, Harris worked with legal aid directors and stakeholders throughout the state to found the Virgin­ia Poverty Law Center. Harris served at ED at the VPLC for its first four years.

Harris said working with strong per­sonalities as an administrative chief means allowing others to lead.

“You have to recognize you’re going to have to sublimate some of your indepen­dence, your inclination to go it alone,” he said.

A key is recognizing the value of collab­oration.

“There are so many things you can do collectively that you couldn’t do individu­ally,” Harris said.

Harris said he will continue to work with the VTLA for a year in an “indefin­able” role of senior policy advisor.

“I’ll try to help whenever I’m asked to, and I’ll try to stay out of things when I’m not,” he added.

Travel is also part of the plan for Har­ris.

“I want to take some time to see what it feels like to not have all my time commit­ted,” he said.

Volunteer work and board member­ships will remain on his agenda, Harris added. Harris hopes to continue serving on the Central Virginia Legal Aid Hotline.

“Lawyers and law firms have an awful lot to be proud of in terms of their com­mitment to helping those who cannot af­ford to hire a lawyer,” he said.