I’ve tried writing this post for the past week. Tried.
On February 25, 2012, I lost a colleague, friend, and mentor. After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Bill Leone died early Saturday morning.
I’ve worked at Leone, Throwe, Teller & Nagle (LTTN) as an attorney for every day of my professional life. I was sworn into the bar on October 31, 2005 and started work at LTTN on November 1, 2005.
At the time I started my career, Bill was beginning to wind his down. A process that would happen more suddenly than anyone expected but I’ll get to that. Bill was the senior partner at the firm. I was the new associate. I didn’t have children. Bill’s daughter, Valerie is an associate at the firm.
This is hard to write.
Bill was a great lawyer. He was respected by his peers, community, and clients. He was all of those things and more – a loving father and husband, a gardener, a Red Sox fan, a golfer, a runner, a grandfather, a brother, a son and a good friend to many. He lived a great life. To quote his brother Frank, Bill was “The Horse”. He lived life in full stride.
Looking back and trying to make sense of this loss – in my eyes, Bill was a great mentor.
He made time for me. Over the past 6.5, years Bill would often come into my office and talk. Frequent topics of conversation were the Red Sox, running, and the legal profession.
He cared deeply about the legal profession and his clients. As a young lawyer, Bill often brought me to hospitals and nursing homes to execute wills of clients who were dying. On those trips, I witnessed more than wills. I witnessed a lawyer caring about a client in a way that went beyond signing documents. Law is about people and not paper. Bill understood this.
Every young lawyer should be so fortunate. Learning from Bill was a great gift. Over the coming weeks, I hope to share some stories in this space. Right now, they’re hard to write.
I miss him greatly. Our firm misses him. His family misses him. His community misses him.
We’re left with the comfort that Bill is in a better place. Bill died on the first day of full squad workouts for the Red Sox in Spring Training. A day of optimism. A day celebrating spring. A day marking the end of winter. A day celebrating a better place (esp. after last September for Red Sox fans).
In mourning his loss, celebrating his life is comforting. And there’s plenty to celebrate.