James Fischette is the senior partner at the law firm of Fischette, Owen, Held & McBurney. He founded the company in 1959.
WHAT TYPE OF LAW DOES HE PRACTICE?
Commercial litigation, collections, and bankruptcy and small business legal matters.
WHAT’S REWARDING ABOUT BEING A LAWYER?
“It’s helping people because the nature of the practice is such that many clients are in [financial] trouble. They use us to get out of trouble, with bankruptcy as a last resort. I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT IT?
“Overcoming the problem that has created the difficulty for the client.”
EDUCATION
After spending over a year at Hamilton College, Fischette enlisted in the Army. While in the service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida. Following a brief stint as an engineer at IBM, he went back to UF under the G.I. Bill for his law degree.
GUNNER PATROL
“People think of computers as a recent development. In World War II, I used 90 and 120 mm aircraft guns run by computers. It would track airplanes and shoot at them. I went to manufacturers and taught factory workers how to build and service them.”
SPENDING MONEY
“I was always handy mechanically. In law school I bought, rebuilt and sold old cars on a vacant lot next to our fraternity house.”
WHY GO INTO LAW?
“I always wanted to be a lawyer. My dad’s a lawyer, two of my uncles are lawyers, my brother, my cousin. Growing up, it seemed like the thing to do.”
BORN
Binghamton, N.Y. He will celebrate his 80th birthday June 9. Once he turned 75, he cut his work schedule back to three days a week.
WHAT BROUGHT HIM TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1949, Fischette relocated to take a job with Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. The river and the ocean are what attracted him to the city.
BEFORE HE HUNG OUT A SHINGLE
Fischette worked for the law firm of D. Bryon King in the early 1950s.
FAMILY
Between Fischette and his wife Dorothy, the couple have produced two children, five stepchildren and eight grandchildren. He and Dorothy reside at the Villages of San Jose. One of his stepsons is an attorney and worked for Fischette several years before starting his own firm.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
Fischette is a member of several professional organizations, including the Commercial Law League of America, Jacksonville Bar Association, Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and the American Bar Association. He is also the co-founder of St. Johns River Yacht Club, Jacksonville Commodores League and Kingsley Bank [now First Union].
NOT THE MOTOWN SINGERS
“The Commodores are a group of yacht owners and their crews who work with the Chamber showing the City to prospective business people. We take them on a tour at no charge to sell them on Jacksonville. I know we make a difference because business comes here. The offshore power boat races were a failure. We decided we should do the Commodore thing and get members.”
HOBBIES
“I had boats for 37, 38 years. There were five yachts from 30-48 feet. It’s an expensive hobby. I sold the last one three years ago. I used to do my own maintenance but it’s heavy work and I’ve had heart trouble so I don’t do it anymore. I’m also a certified scuba diver but I don’t do that anymore either. I would hate to go underwater and start having chest pains.”
HOBBIES HE CAN STILL ENJOY
Traveling the globe to study historic and ancient cultures is an adventure he shares with his wife. Crossword puzzles and Italian food also appeal to him.
—by Monica Chamness