Interview with a happily “transitioning” senior lawyer

This is the third interview in this series. The first was with a happily retired senior lawyer, Frank Ariano. The second was with a happily practicing senior lawyer, Loren Golden. And now this interview is with a happily “transitioning” senior lawyer, Rich Gaines of Rockford, Illinois.

Mateer: Rich, when were you licensed to practice law and how long have you been practicing law?

Gaines: I was licensed in 1969, and spent the better part of a year in the JAG office of the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, although I was not a JAG officer. My civilian practice started shortly after discharge in 1971.

Mateer: Where is your practice?

Gaines: Rockford, Illinois.

Mateer: When did you start to slow down your practice?

Gaines: I started to slow it down four years ago, probably 2010.

Mateer: What type of law were you practicing?

Gaines: I had a general litigation practice until the early 1980s. At that point, medical malpractice defense work just basically forced all other types of litigation out because of the volume, although I did continue to do an occasional legal malpractice defense case.

Mateer: Why was it that you started to slow down approximately four years ago?

Gaines: When I got to my mid-60s, I found that what had once been fun was becoming more work than fun and the work was getting more and more difficult. It simply was not that rewarding and it was extremely challenging and tiring, things which had not bothered me before. In fact, I had relished them.

Mateer: Why didn’t you just retire instead of slowing down?

Gaines: I still wanted to keep my hand in and, at that point, I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I were fully retired.

Mateer: How were you able to slow down; how did you actually do it?

Gaines: That was something which I worried about for years, but in the end it was not that difficult. I basically selected a group of cases which were approximately 1/3 of my pending caseload, and I told my clients that I was not going to try their case. As expected, that led to most of the cases getting reassigned, although I told them that I really thought that it made sense that I hang onto this one or that one because I thought I could get it dismissed or I could get it resolved on a very favorable basis. In general, the clients went along with that. There were also some that we delayed the transfer for a specific event or events to occur. I did the same with the remaining cases which were not resolved over the following 18 months or so.

Mateer: Do you have any advice for an attorney contemplating the slowdown of his or her practice in lieu of actual retirement?

Gaines: Well, I think my advice would probably apply to people with similar practices, but am not so sure it would be helpful to the many attorneys who have very different types of practices. One way would be to simply identify times and days when you are not going to work. Another way is to narrow the type of practice. The way I did it was to simply quit taking new cases and, over a period of 2 to 3 years, transfer my pending cases that didn’t get resolved to other attorneys.

Mateer: How would you describe the success or lack of success of your period of transition?

Gaines: I have been very pleasantly surprised by how well it has gone. I was worried about it. I was not sure that this was something that a civil litigator could really accomplish because of the length of time the cases pend. However, by identifying cases and transferring them from time to time before they were completed, I was able to do it.

Mateer: Could you describe what you actually do now, compared to what you did when you were actually engaged in a full practice of law?

Gaines: I am doing very, very little now. I am doing a small amount of mediations and arbitrations. In the past couple of years, I have taken a small number of pro bono cases, cases for friends or cases that interested me and tried a couple of them. I am now to the point where at most I come into the office typically for maybe an hour to an hour and a half a couple of times a week. I do check my e-mails every day and talk to the other attorneys in my firm by telephone and e-mail and that sort of thing.

Mateer: What interests do you have besides the practice of law that you have been able to enjoy in this transition?

Gaines: I love to play golf and, by my standards, I have played an incredible amount of golf in the past two or three years. Before I slowed down, I never would even take a Wednesday afternoon off to play golf; it was pretty much on the weekends. Over the past 2 to 3 years, I expanded the days when I would play regularly. So that would be the major thing. I am also in the process of acquiring a condo in Florida where I expect to spend the winter so I can continue with my golf.

Mateer: Do you have any plans to retire? If so when and how you plan to retire?

Gaines: My plans are not firm, but at this point I am really leaning strongly towards retiring December 31 of this year. I am now doing so little that I am not sure that it makes sense for me to continue on with the firm.

Mateer: Rich, could you now give us some of your background?

Gaines: I was raised in a small town, Watseka, Illinois. I went to a small private college in Indiana, DePauw University in Greencastle. I then went on to the University of Illinois law school. I then spent two years in the Army. After that, after looking for a job for 2 to 3 months, I settled on a firm in Rockford and have been with that same law firm, Holmstrom & Kennedy, P.C., since December 1971. I was married. Unfortunately, my wife of 45 years passed away last year. We have two adult children and four grandchildren. Right now I get to see them fairly frequently. Those, I guess, would be the highlights.

Mateer: Do you have any further advice that you wish to express at this time?

Gaines: For many years, I was very active in the bar associations, particularly the Illinois State Bar and the Winnebago County Bar; also, to a lesser extent, the American Bar Association. I do recommend that to people. I think it’s something that you owe your profession and I think you get a great deal out of it, not just networking for clients but you make friendships with a broad spectrum of lawyers. That was something that was important to me, although in later years I have had little involvement with the bar. It also helps to get involved, if you are in a position to do so, with continuing legal education from a teaching standpoint. I think it really sharpens your skills and, for that matter, it’s probably not a bad marketing device either.

Mateer: Rich, I appreciate you taking the time to participate in this interview.

Gaines: My pleasure. ■