Memorials

• Publication year: 2011
• Pages: 0451
• Citation: Vol. 72 No. 6 Pg. 0451

MEMORIALS
Vol. 72 No. 6 Pg. 451
The Alabama Lawyer
NOVEMBER, 2011

ROBERT BLAKE LAZENBY

BRANT A. YOUNG

Robert Blake Lazenby

One of the saddest days of my life was July 27, 2011. This is the day that Blake Lazenby, my wonderful friend and law partner died tragically. Blake was 54 years old. He was taken from us long before he should have been but he left behind a legacy that will be with all of us who loved him and whose lives he touched while he was with us. It is indeed an honor to have been asked to write a memorial for Blake since there are dozens of other people whose lives he touched and who would be far more eloquent than I to reflect on Blake's life and legacy.

Blake received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta social fraternity. Blake graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law and came to work for our firm immediately following law school. He served on the Board of Bar Commissioners from Talladega County for many years and was a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation. Blake also served on the Disciplinary Commission and the Character and Fitness section of the state bar, contributing countless hours of volunteer work. He was a member of the Alabama Law Institute and the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

Blake will forever be remembered among those whose paths he crossed as a person who had a terrific legal mind, an extraordinary sense of humor and the highest degree of integrity; but perhaps the things for which he will be most remembered were his kindness and compassion. In the weeks following Blake's death, I spoke with dozens of lawyers and colleagues about him, and the one comment that was made in every single conversation was "what a nice guy he was" No one ever had an unkind word to say about Blake and he never had an unkind word to say about anyone else. I have never known anybody with as many friends, both in and out of the legal profession, a fact made abundantly clear by the number of people who attended his funeral.

Known only to those he touched is how much he mentored young lawyers as they crossed his path. He always found the time to provide advice and assistance to young lawyers when they had a problem or some issue with which they...