The Walker Law Offices consist of Willie Walker Jr. and his associate, Lafonda Gipson.
HAS THE FIRM ALWAYS BEEN LOCATED DOWNTOWN?
“Yes, because of the proximity to the courthouse. Since we’re trial lawyers, it wouldn’t be practical to have an office in outlying areas. We go to court quite often.”
WHAT TYPE OF LAW DOES THE FIRM PRACTICE?
“For the last 10-12 years, about 90 percent of our practice has been personal injury and wrongful death cases. The other 10 percent is probate work, a little bit of criminal trial advocacy and a little bit of family law.”
WHY SPECIALIZE IN THESE AREAS?
“Over the years, our firm has always had an emphasis on trial work. We came to realize that we could do a whole lot of good for the greatest number by starting to focus on civil trial work and helping the injured. The common, every day folks are the ones that tend to be on the receiving end of pretty tragic situations. We like to be in a position to help those people. Our philosophy and our approach to the practice of law is, first, we exist to help people and everything else takes care of itself after that.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD HE GIVE TO ASPIRING ATTORNEYS?
“I always tell kids especially, if you want to be an attorney, there’s only one reason to do it. We are a service profession — service first. The only reason to do it is because you want to help people. If your motivation is anything other than that, you will eventually become one of the scores of people who experience all kinds of professional dissatisfaction.”
HOMETOWN
Savannah.
WHAT BROUGHT HIM TO FLORIDA?
“Once I was out of law school, I thought it would be interesting to leave the state [Georgia] and go somewhere. I had gone to high school, undergraduate school, law school and every other school in Georgia. Jacksonville was close enough but still far enough away from where I grew up.”
WHY GO TO LAW SCHOOL?
“I initially started with the idea that I would become an engineer. Then, somewhere down the track, I ran into some dynamic people who were either finishing careers in law and decided to teach or were still in the practice. There’s just a human element to the practice of law that you don’t get in other disciplines like engineering, which is pretty staid. I’ve always been fascinated by the human condition and how we as a society move the human condition in other directions. What we do as lawyers probably has more to do with that than any other profession. I really enjoy being part of that impetus.”
EDUCATION
Walker has a bachelor’s degree in economics and criminal justice from Savannah State College and a law degree from Mercer University. “I worked my way through college at a car wash. I learned so much at the car wash about the human condition. You find out that people are all pretty much the same, whether they’re educated or not so educated. There’s more about us that is alike than is different. It prepared me for the practice of law, probably more than any classroom experience.”
WHAT IS GIPSON’S BACKGROUND?
Gipson joined the firm almost three years ago after working as an assistant public defender. She graduated from Albany State University in Georgia and attended law school at the University of Florida.
SOME MORE BACKGROUND
Walker’s firm has been in existence for eight years and there is another office in Georgia. Prior to his current practice, he was a partner at Walker & Barlow for seven years. Before striking out on his own, he was an assistant public defender.
WHAT IS HIS GOAL FOR THE FIRM?
“We plan to grow the firm in this location with personnel and, physically, by expanding our usable office space. I don’t want to get too large because our niche of eye-to-eye service would be affected. My long-term goal is to continue to do the things that got us here: providing quality representation and being a zealous advocate for our clients.”
HOW MANY CASES DOES HE
TRY ANNUALLY?
“Our goal at the start of every year is to try a minimum of four civil jury trials. We don’t always do that. People get scared. We scare them off. You’ve heard that trials happen because of a failure to communicate. If you’re successful with showing the other side that by taking it to court they’ll get whooped, it usually results in a case being settled. It goes the other way, too. Sometimes we, as the plaintiff’s attorney, or the plaintiff come to the same realization that some provision in our case is not tenable.”
AFFILIATIONS
Walker is past president of the D.W. Perkins Bar Association, a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and “a host of other trial lawyer associations.” Additionally, he is a certified Circuit Court civil mediator and a supporter of the Police Athletic League.
FAMILY
East Arlington is home to Walker and his wife JoAnn. They have a son, Willie III, and a daughter, Olivia.
HOBBIES
Walker enjoys fishing, running, playing basketball and working with his son’s Cub Scout pack.
— by Monica Chamness