CEB Profile of James E. Towery

Playing by the Rules
James E. Towery
Jane McDermott

A lawyer since 1976 and a litigator with Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel in San Jose since 1989, James Towery is a man who believes in doing the right thing. He is a former president of the State Bar of California (1995-1996) and has also served the Bar as a member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Discipline Committee, and Chair of the ADR Task Force. He was a member of the ABA House of Delegates from 1989-1998 and chaired the ABA Standing Committee for Client Protection. He was recently appointed by the State Bar of California to the CEB Governing Committee as Vice Chairman. (The CEB Governing Committee consists of nine voting members, four of whom are appointed by the State Bar of California. The rest are appointed by the University of California.)

In addition to his work as a litigator, Towery enjoys a statewide reputation as an advocate for ethical standards. “He has really been a role model for other lawyers in terms of the pro bono work that he has done and his commitment to raising the bar for ethical standards,” says Jeremy Fogel, U.S. District Court Judge, Northern District.

While Towery does mostly defense work in hospital malpractice, administrative law, ADR, personal injury, and professional liability, he also teaches professional responsibility at Lincoln Law School of San Jose. He sees no difference between being a good lawyer and being a good person. For Jim Towery, it is clear what is expected of the law professional. “Rules of professional responsibility represent the floor, not the ceiling, of how a lawyer ought to behave. That’s where it starts, not ends. Your professional responsibility extends to the small, mundane aspects of your day — how you record your time, whether you produce a questionable document in discovery. This is central to being a lawyer and, I think, being a person. You can’t bifurcate your life; the rules apply to all aspects of being an integrated human being.”

Towery is a graduate of Princeton and of Emory University School of Law in Atlanta (where he began his career). Love and opportunity brought him to California where he became a member of the California bar in 1977. “I consider myself fortunate to work in San Jose where there is cutting-edge litigation happening but where the area, for all its growth, still has a kind of small town atmosphere. There is also a great sense of civility here and extremely high ethical standards. However, I share with a lot of colleagues from my generation dismay at seeing law moving from being a profession to being a business.”

Towery has been handling medical malpractice for nearly 25 years. He admits that the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) which caps medical damages at $250,000 has been good for doctors and hospitals, but not so good for patients as the cap has not been adjusted since it was instigated in 1976. This might seem an odd belief for a defense attorney to hold, but not so odd when placed in context of what Towery feels it means to be a lawyer. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on; it’s how you play the game and how you assure that you keep the playing field level. He walks his talk.

“The state gives attorneys a monopoly on the practice of law by licensing us. We are, therefore, the gatekeepers of public access to the law and are obligated to provide representation and access to the court system to those who are unable to pay for it. Some attorneys discharge their obligation through financial contributions and that’s fine, but I believe that the American Bar Association’s recommendation of 50 hours a year is a reasonable expectation and one that lawyers should strive to adhere to.”

In 1998, Towery and Phil Hammer of Hammer & Jacobs, San Jose, discovered that despite the then booming tech industry, the level of giving per capita to legal services in San Jose was significantly smaller compared to the level of giving in comparably sized counties. In response, Towery and Hammer began the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services (http://www.svcls.org/index.htm). SVCLS challenges the Bar to contribute money and time to legal aid agencies serving the Silicon Valley. Organizations that have benefited from SVCLS are Asian Law Alliance, Bay Area Legal Aid Society, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, Pro Bono Project, East San Jose Community Law Center, and Senior Adult Legal Assistance. SVCLS co-founder Phil Hammer credits Towery as the guiding force behind the organization and its success. “To an unusual degree, professional responsibility is something that drives his life. He teaches it and devotes countless hours to it through his work in the Bar and on committees. He’s a remarkable lawyer.”

Towery’s firm has borrowed a line from its Guiding Principles to serve as its de facto motto: “We believe that the practice of law is a profession, not just a business.” Jim Towery believes this passionately, but not without a sense of humor. On behalf of the firm, he recently purchased a full-sized fiberglass shark, part of a San Jose art fund raising project, and hung it in the firm’s offices. “Most people in the firm appreciate the double-meaning and think it’s funny. Some of the traditionalists were initially upset with it, but they’ve come around. The problem, unfortunately, with lawyer jokes is that a lot of lawyers don’t like them and a lot of people don’t realize they’re jokes.” He then proceeded to tell one.

Here is Jim’s joke:

Three people — a teacher, a garbage collector, and a lawyer — die and find themselves in front of the pearly gates. St. Peter meets them and says, “Heaven is getting very crowded. We can’t let just anybody in. I’m going to ask each one of you a question. If you answer correctly, you’re admitted. If you answer incorrectly, you’re banished to hell.”

He asks the teacher: “What was the name of the ship that struck an iceberg and sank in 1912?”

“The Titanic,” the teacher replies.

“That’s right, ”says St. Peter. “Welcome to heaven.”

“And how many people died in that disaster?” he says to the garbage collector.

The garbage collector answers: “Why, I just saw the movie. 1503 people were lost.”

“Correct,” says St. Peter. “Welcome to heaven.”

He turns to the lawyer. “Name them.”

Research for this article done by Susan Godstone

James E. Towery