by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The joy of winning an election has been coupled with the anxiety of closing a business for Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Judge-Elect Jefferson Morrow.
The practice of law has come full circle for Morrow, who started his career in the Public Defender’s office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. After over 20 years in private practice Morrow will be sworn in as a judge in January and it isn’t easy closing a business when you are a boss. Of the four new Circuit Court Judges, Morrow is the only solo practitioner.
Morrow has been in the process of finding counsel for the clients who may need help beyond January of next year and he must have both the firm trust and operating accounts dissolved by the end of the year.
“The one real frustrating part is working with clients and sending them to another lawyer and having them sent back,” said Morrow. “I’m also working with the bank to close the firm’s accounts.”
Firms set up trust accounts to receive moneys awarded by the court. Once a case is completed and a judge awards damages, two checks are sent to the trust, one for the client and the other for the attorney. The attorney’s portion is transferred to the operating account.
Handling bank accounts and money wasn’t a problem when Morrow first started out. The toughest part about opening his own practice was getting money to open and sustain the business.
“We were so cocky when I first got into private practice,” said Morrow. “My partner, Ray David, and I thought we were just going to put our names on the building and people were going to hire us.”
His original office was near the Duval County Courthouse, but he always had an eye on an office in what is now the Wachovia Riverplace Tower. The Southbank structure housed some of the elite law offices when Morrow started practicing and he saw that as an environment he wanted to be a part of.
“The big names were over here,” said Morrow, in his corner office overlooking the St. Johns River. “Attorneys like Walter Arnold and Ray Green had offices here, and the owners catered to lawyers, so it was an easy choice.”
Suite 2600 has room for three other attorneys and Morrow has leased space to other solo practitioners over the years. One tenant stood out as his favorite.
“Tom Edwards was my favorite roommate,” said Morrow. “He always had so much energy and worked so hard. He’d work a 15-hour day and be back bright and early the next morning like it was nothing.”
One of his current tenants will miss the atmosphere of the office when Morrow shuts down.
“One of the great things about sharing a suite with him is all the years of experience. I don’t think there are too many situations he hasn’t seen in court,” said Attorney Easa Mousa. “I’ll miss the companionship. I look forward to coming in because I know he will always have a good story.”
Mousa won’t be the only person looking for a place to work when the office closes. Morrow employed two paralegals, a receptionist and a runner and he will have to let them go despite the history they may have.
“It’s hard telling people you have to let them go,” said Morrow. “I’d take my paralegals with me, but they can make more money in private practice.”
Staff aren’t the only people he has to say goodbye to; clients are given a farewell and referral to another attorney, but some referrals are hard to find.
“Bill Brown has hired me for the last 20 years for different legal issues,” said Morrow. “He always comes in and pays $100 cash. It’s going to be hard to find him another lawyer that will work for that.”
Morrow admits he will also miss the years that his practice prospers financially, but he won’t miss the problems that come with big-money cases.
“The money is a lot different in the public sector, but you don’t have the headaches,” said Morrow. “You have a lot of money out on cases sometimes, and you don’t win all of them. I don’t care who you are, you don’t win all of your cases.”
He is looking forward to being a judge and teaching new lawyers. As an attorney he has been a member of the Jacksonville Bar Association’s Committee on Professionalism and mentors lawyers whenever asked.
“I look forward to teaching new lawyers on how to appear in court, make a difference in the case load and being a good manager of the case load,” said Morrow.
He also wanted to dispel a myth.
“I don’t go fishing as much as people think I do,” said Morrow, who is an avid angler. “It just happens that when I do go out it has been captured on film or in print.”
He hopes to continue his two annual, week-long fishing trips. He travels to the Florida Keys for one trip and the Galapagos Islands for the other.
Two or three of his trips are available for viewing on YouTube. A handful of clips can be viewed by searching for Jeff Morrow.
356-2466