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Giants of the


Memphis Legal Community A New Series


An Interview with Hal Gerber by BrIAn doMInskI H


al Gerber, a second-generation Memphis institution indeed. Hal still practices law with the vigor and fervor and mental acuity that he always has over


his 91 years. As his court reporter for the last 30 years, I sat down with Hal in his office at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs and chatted with him about his favorite subjects from the essentials in living life well to politics to the practice of law and some interesting points in between. Portions of the verbatim session are excerpted below.


you are, of course, viewed as one of the best Memphis lawyers over your career.


Well, I don’t know about that.


name some lawyers that you’ve come to respect here in Memphis?


In my vintage, Tom Prewitt, Sr., and Jim Manire, Lucius Burch, Frank Glankler. Tey were the best lawyers in Memphis in my opinion. It stayed that way for quite awhile. Of course, Jack Petree would be in that group, too. Te Bearmans, both Leo and his father, excellent lawyers, fine men.


how has the practice of law changed from - From good to bad? From a profession to a business?


From then until now.


Two things: Billable hours, which has been abused, and advertising. Te Supreme Court—I don’t know how it got around to this, and I don’t know how it gets around to a lot


12 Photo by Lance Murphy. Courtesy of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP


of things it gets around to—but it held that advertising was legal for professional people, which it really is not. I don’t think it is appropriate for any profession, whether it is the medical profession, the legal profession, engineers, nursing, whatever you want to name, I just don’t think it is appropriate to advertise. I think that has been abused, too.


A lot of lawyers of your tenure that I’ve known have said there was a greater trust level back in the day.


Tere was. Everything was done on a handshake. Judges took the bench promptly at ten o’clock. If you had a case and you weren’t there, it was your (expletive) and not theirs. Today you can’t tell when they are going to take the bench. Tat’s not just circuit judges, that’s all up and down the line. Also, the cost of litigation has exploded, and so has attorney fees. In the early days you could carry one file to the courthouse under your arm. Today it is a file drawer.


over your years in the Memphis area, who was the fairest, keenest, most respected jurist?


Tere were several. Chancellor Bejach, Chancellor Creson and —(Pausing to consider).


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