When I first entered into the legal profession in 1993, one of the things that I noticed was the lack of community involvement that I saw among my lawyer peers. Back then, as well as now, lawyers did not have a stellar reputation for giving back to their community without an expectation of getting something in return.
This fact is perhaps even more apparent in the area of law that I practice in – personal injury. The last thing I wanted to be seen as was a “greedy ambulance chaser.” There’s no shortage of lawyers in my field who may earn this dubious distinction. Just watch late-night t.v.
So, as I began my career 17 years ago and honed my trial skills to be the best lawyer possible, I knew I wanted to be a much different lawyer than the negative stereotype that is often depicted by the media or in late-night t.v. commercials.
The turning point came to me a few years ago while I was watching television with some friends of mine. One of my local competitors (an attorney who shall remain nameless) was running a blitz of commercials that really were cheesy and promoted the “greedy ambulance chaser” stereotype. After watching the commercial for the 3rd time, one of my friends looked over and said to me with a smile, “Jeez Davis, no wonder people hate lawyers, we all think you guys are just in it for the money! It’s too bad you have to be lumped in with guys like that (as he pointed to the t.v.).”
My friend was joking of course, but I knew he was right on. The public’s negative connotation of lawyers is really groomed if not promoted by some of the outrageous and poor-taste advertising by many attorneys today.
That’s when I decided to do something to give back to the community that had absolutely no connection to the legal profession, and carried no chance of met ”getting something back” in the way of more clients or cases. I didn’t want my community involvement to be seen as some slick marketing gimmick.
That’s when I decided to start the Davis Law Group Scholar Athlete Program for high school student athletes. The program awards scholarships to high school seniors who perform well both in athletics and in the classroom. As a high school student athlete myself, I knew how important athletics was in my development as a young man. There are many important life lessons that are taught about competition, sportsmanship, goal setting and developing a strong work ethic. Plus, I thought it was extremely important to actually recognize and encourage our young men and women who are actually learning these lessons and becoming important role models for their peers.
Although we just started the DLG Scholar Athlete Program this year, the response has been tremendous. We routinely receive 40-50 nomination applications each week from parents, coaches, teachers and friends who ask that we nominate a young man or woman they see fit to deserve the award. To say that I have been impressed with the caliber of the students that are nominated is an understatement. Most of them should have their photo next to the word “excel” in the dictionary. They are truly remarkable achievers.
My staff and I are now extremely excited to be planning and coordinating the first annual Scholar Athlete Award Banquet. It will likely be held in May 2010 and we expect to have at least 80-100 attendees watch as the first male and female Scholar Athlete of the Year are picked for the 2009-10 school year. We are also working on getting some local celebrity talent to speak and/or emcee the presentation.
If you have any ideas about speakers or presenters, please visit the DLG Scholar Athlete Facebook Page and write them on our FB wall.
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