Jim Vickaryous

My grandmother used to say: “Kill ‘em with Kindness, Jimmy!” As a child, my grandmother’s wise advice often went in one ear and out the other, but this stuck with me. Being kind is also the best advice for lawyers. Kindness extended by a lawyer is often a surprise to a non-lawyer. They often think of us as professional killjoys. As a veteran lawyer, seeing lawyers exchange even the smallest of kind acts greatly encourages me. The kindness I most appreciate is the kindness shown that will not necessarily gain the giver anything.

In recent years, I had the great honor to be admitted into the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. One of the perks of being a new member is getting a front row seat to that day’s oral arguments. The case being argued that day had to do with whether the Veterans Administration had given due process to a particular veteran. I was seated immediately behind the young lawyer representing the veteran. As we waited for the Supreme Court justices to come in, I watched the wide-eyed lawyer reading through his materials. Hidden just below the counsel table was his trembling hand. He had a terrified look on his face. Perhaps I would be trembling too if I was about to argue before the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court and your opposing party is the United States of America.