Giving Back to the community

What does Jack do with his money? What does he do with his portion of case victories?

I've aged wisely. I wish I could have arrived where I am now more quickly. In the past few years, I've done a gut-check and realigned my mission in life.

Today, my goal in life is to die penniless and leave behind a legacy that grows (much to the chagrin of my kids—ha). So all profit I receive from the law firm or from Creeris Ventures now goes first to Together in Hope (TIH, www.togetherinhope.com ), our public charity. Diane heads up the effort where she travels the world and feeds kids, both their bellies and their spiritual souls (all comers are welcome, not just Christians). All of our Creeris Companies have some mechanism to contribute to TIH. Diane is on her way back from the Philippines as I write this, finishing up another mission. A few years ago she took me to Africa where we witnessed amazing scenes in Rwanda and Uganda. For me personally, it was a game changer.

We tout TIH to our Creeris portfolio investors. It persuades some and has no effect on others. Some are more interested in the green impact, like Plura. Others are interested in making a mark in medicine, like mAbGen's mission to cure cancer. Every attorney in the firm has a strong social conscience and everyone has additional duties associated with TIH.

At the end of the day, I have come to the realization that I have plenty, so it's time to do something important.

So as tort reform has ravaged many practices (it hasn't fully hit me, but it may) and defendants strive to demonize trial lawyers while at the same time refusing to settle the most meritorious cases, I am stepping aside from the financial bounty of law to focus on more important missions. I love trying important cases. And I will continue to carefully select only those that cry out for justice. But when it comes time to cash in on the prize, I'm finally answering a higher calling. It took me long enough, but I finally heard it!