Marion County pays tribute to Laureate James Wham, 90

By order of the Marion County Court, the bench and bar of the 4th Circuit helped Centralia attorney James B. Wham celebrate his 90th birthday on Oct. 10 in the courthouse.

The general order called for “partying and commiserating,” and “in a heartfelt Offer of Proof,” friends were to “share their memories of a great attorney, a great citizen and a great man loved by all.”

A Laureate of the ISBA Academy of Lawyers who has practiced law for 62 years, Wham actually was the inspiration for establishment of the Academy.

His rousing speech at the 1998 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, where he received the General Practice Section Tradition of Excellence Award, led Cheryl I. Niro to implement the Laureate program during her presidency the following year.

Still active and interested in the Laureate program, Wham already has nominated a colleague for the honor in next year’s selection process. His accompanying letter follows.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to attend in the last few years due to the ailments I have incurred as I approach the ‘big 90’ this year… I was very glad that my old friend Jack Horsley was inducted as a member of the Academy shortly before he died.

“He was a great person as well as a lawyer, and I knew him all my career, and I sent his family the enclosed tribute which I thought you might like to see.”

A Tribute to Jack Horsley

I knew Jack Horsley for 60 years. We were always on the opposite side in cases. I treat each of these encounters as a privilege that only trial lawyers can understand.

The mutual respect we had for each other far transcended the controversy. Vigorous advocacy pitted against the other. Friendship never adversely affected by heat of the contest and result of the trial.

The first case I ever tried was in Jefferson County, and Jack was on the other side. Unfortunate illness overtook him during that trial and he was not able to proceed any further.

But he was what I call the “Greatest Survivor of Them All.” His long career in the courtroom continued after his recovery. Many other cases he conducted with skill, vigor and good humor.

When physical ill-fortune finally prevented other trials, again and again he survived. He wrote skilled publications on the law and how to honorably perform the duties and privileges of a lawyer.

Horsley’s character, even above his intellectual abilities, fully justifies the epitaph of a great lawyer: “He never quit; he just wore out and died, doing something for somebody else.” He encouraged everyone, and never to my knowledge spoke ill of anyone.

The most fitting conclusion to his 69th year as a lawyer was his selection as a Laureate of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers in the Class of 2008… This was the last of his many honors.

When I heard of his passing from this world, I could only say: “A friend is gone, but his life and his words linger on – never to be forgotten by anyone who know him.”

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For information about nominating a distinguished lawyer like James Wham or Jack Horsley for a 2009 Academy Laureate, see the story on page 9. The deadline is Dec. 1.