Rethinking success: Justice Fred Lewis' remarks at the 25th anniversary celebration of the St. Thomas Law Review.

• Date: 22 June 2013
• Author: Silver, Jay
• Published date: 22 June 2013
• Author: Silver, Jay Sterling

Longtime Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, a straight shooting, folksy man who has earned enormous respect for his contributions both on and off the bench, spoke in the spring of 2013 at the St. Thomas Law Review's 25th Anniversary Celebration. I assumed he would talk about legal issues or the professional responsibility of attorneys, throw in some war stories, and give a pep talk about the practice of law. "Do good as you seek to do well" and "keep your chin up" are the normal fare in a speech to eager law students poised to step into the rough and tumble world of practice.

While his talk included pinches of each of those, his theme was very different and deeply personal. If you would have heard a recording of his remarks, but did not know who he was speaking to, you would have had no way of guessing where he was.

As he walked among the tables of law...