Some lawyers prefer to make a name for themselves in one area. Others embrace three or four specialties. Still others cast an even wider net and operate a general law practice.
While the latter are sometimes called a “jack of all trades, master of none,” the term does not apply to Chattanooga attorney William Horton, even though he’s practiced general law since 1971. Instead of providing merely competent work in a variety of legal situations, he’s made a name for himself by delivering consistently skillful work, no matter what was involved.
“I’ve practiced in about every area of law, including commercial litigation, domestic, personal injury, real estate, and so on. If you could compare me to anyone, it would be a general practitioner,” he says, referring to doctors that treat multiple health issues.
Horton did not set out to develop a general practice; rather, it grew over time as he took cases that were outside of his realm of experience.
“If there was a need in a different area of law, and I had an opportunity to serve the client and make money, then I would do that work. It’s stressful trying to keep up with the developments in all of those areas, but I enjoy doing different things.
“It would have been less interesting to practice in one area. For example, those who practice domestic law are under a lot of stress, so I like being able to step away from that occasionally and do real estate work or business litigation.”
Horton’s mentors might have had a hand in steering him toward a general practice, too. Upon graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville School of Law, Horton came to Chattanooga to work for Stophel, Caldwell & Heggie, then one of the largest firms in the state. During his time with the practice, and throughout the early part of his career, Horton took advantage of the brilliance in his proximity.
“I learned under some of the most talented lawyers in the last half century in Chattanooga, including Tom Caldwell, a premiere corporate estate tax lawyer, Charlie Gearhiser and Thomas Helton, who were litigation lawyers, John Seymour, who was a general practice lawyer, Wayne Peters, a good estate planning lawyer, and corporate lawyers like John and Glenn Stophel,” he says.
Horton has words of deep respect for Seymour, from whom he learned a great deal. “I admired him because he was a versatile lawyer. He could handle a lot of different things,” he says.
Although Horton has practiced law for 40 years, he can still recall the moment when he first thought about becoming an attorney. During a break in classes at East Tennessee State, where he was taking math and physics, he took a summer job with an engineering firm that was doing work at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. With the temperature exceeding human comfort levels around the clock, Horton says he was hot and miserable when he saw a lawyer for the company walk by.
“He seemed to be doing a lot of traveling, and he looked cool and comfortable, so I thought it might be a good idea to be lawyer rather than an engineer. When you try to combine math, physics and law, the first things that come to mind are patent and trademark law, but I never did much of that work,” he says.
Horton continued his pursuit of a general law practice when he and a few other attorneys in the mid ’70s bid farewell to Stophel, Caldwell & Heggie and launched Gearhiser, Peters & Horton.
Twenty years later, Horton formed his own firm – Horton, Maddox & Anderson. In 2007, he resigned from that firm to become general counsel for real estate developer Thunder Enterprises. Then, in January of this year, Horton started his second firm, Horton, Ballard & Pemerton. He also does general counsel work for Henry Luken’s companies.
“I’ve been busy since I started practicing law. I hit the ground running, and I’ve been running ever since,” he says.
Fortunately, Horton has generally liked his work. He’s been through times when his level of satisfaction was lower than others, but that’s true of every attorney, he says.
“It look me a long time to start enjoying the practice of law, but the more I worked at it, the more I liked it. You won’t find many lawyers who enjoyed it from day one. But I like it now, and I plan on doing it as long as I can contribute,” he says.
Horton’s peers at the Chattanooga Bar Association let Horton know they hope he’ll be around for a while when they elected him to be a Fellow earlier this year.
In addition to being a productive member of his profession, Horton is an active participant in the Scenic City community. He’s been on the board of the Walter E. Boehm Birth Defects Center for 35 years, is a member of the board of Choose Chattanooga, and has served on the board of the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.
Horton has been as busy at home as he has been at work. He and his wife, Janet, a retired special education teacher, have four daughters, all of whom are grown. Only one is following in her father’s footsteps, but he’s proud of all of his children.
“Jennifer teaches school in Zimbabwe, Maggie is a nurse practitioner in Boston, Laura is going to law school in California, and Claire is in nursing school in Chattanooga,” he says.
In his spare time, Horton runs, rides a bicycle, and does his own yard work. He also squeezes in a game of golf whenever he can, and is humble enough to admit his wife might have a better game than he does. “She’s one of the better women amateurs in the city. She’s probably better than I am,” he says.
While his wife might have him beat on the fairways, the people and businesses of Chattanooga would be hard pressed to find a general practice lawyer who can combine expertise and versatility as well as Horton. He might be a jack of all trades, but he’s a far cry from being a master of none.