Attorney isn't ready to rest his case

It was early in Bill Curphey III's career as an attorney when he was putting a theory to work in 1973.

Curphey, who in June received recognition at the Florida Bar Convention in Orlando for his 50 years in the profession, was pushing the courtroom limits as a trial attorney for the Office of the Solicitor of Labor for the U.S, Department of Labor in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was in court, working to prosecute companies and corporations for violations of U.S. labor laws, OSHA regulations, the Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage and overtime), child labor laws, and others.

Although he was a young attorney learning on the job, he was facing the cream of the crop of attorneys who were pulling down big bucks.

He needed an edge.

So he would push the legal envelope, making statements and asking questions during the trial that should have led to objections from the opposing attorney.

The judge noticed what he was doing.

"The judge was leaning over the bench, staring at me," said Curphey, who now lives in Mill Creek."The judge said, 'If the other side wants to object, they should put in an objection now."

No objection came, so Curphey pushed forward. Once again, the judge stopped the proceedings and pointed out that he would listen to any objection, if one was made.

By that time, the objections started to come, and Curphey had to back off.

"Still to this day, I will test the opposing attorney," Curphey said. "I always have found it incredible how badly prepared attorneys are."

At 76, Curphey still is active as an attorney, working out of his home as the firm Curphey & Dersch, P.A.. His job still takes him all over the country and beyond.

"People ask me all the time, 'Why don't you retire?'" he said. "I say, 'What for? I love trying a case.'"

His wife, Joanne Derstine Curphey, said there is no reason for him to stop.

"He loves what he does," she said. "Although he does tell me not to go into court to watch him, because I probably wouldn't like him."

About his 50 years as an attorney, Curphey said with a laugh, "I thought it would take longer to get here."

He loves his work, which has included trying hundreds of cases over the years and speaking around the world on topics such as regulatory compliance, how to avoid employment litigation, and teachering supervisory skills and supervision. 

He has loved his job despite the public's often negative view of his profession.

American author Mario Puzo once said "A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns."

In reality, many of those in need who were being bullied or badgered by the employers, or even the government, found the help they needed through Curphey. Being an attorney can be a noble pursuit, and he would recommend it as a career for today's talented students.

On a day when Curphey talked about his long career, he gave tips for young people who might be considering a career as an attorney. His own path was a bit different.

He grew up in a farming community in Lexington, Ohio. His father, also Bill Curphey II, owned a men's clothing store while his mom, Gertrude Curphey, was a nurse. They wanted him to be successful. "You are going to college!" was the common refrain at his home.

As a kid, though, he had other dreams. After receiving his first model train set, he wanted to be a railroad engineer.

"I fell in love with it," he said.

Even today, in his Mill Creek home, is an extensive model train set that still brings out the kid in him.

But he didn't go down those tracks as a young man.

"In high school, I was really good in science and math," he said.

So he listened to his parents and went to Ohio State.

However, after getting his undergraduate degree, he still was undecided upon a career. So upon a whim, he took the law school admission test, acing it. He went to Cleveland State after being offered a scholarship, and entered its clinical program where he was in court each day, arguing cases."

He loved the competition, and he also admitted, "I never wanted a job where you had to be there every day. Maybe it was God's plan, because I just fell into it."

He might have fallen into it, but he had to work to be good at it.

"Law school doesn't teach you how to try a case," he said. "You learn that on your own."

So for the young people who are considering a law career, he offered some tips that helped him have success in a tough profession:

1. Don't be shy. "Being a trial attorney is what I love the most," he said. "I like meeting strangers and connecting with them. You need to be able to do that. I love meeting people from all over the U.S. It helps if you understand the current political situation because you have to be able to relate to (the jurors)."
2. "You have got to be able to make people like you," he said. "If (the jurors) like you, they will filter out evidence they would normally grab onto. They grab onto evidence that favors you."
3. Use humor. "I would use humor quite often," he said. During the jury selection — the voir dire portion (to speak the truth) of the process — attorneys often use humor to relate to jurors, and to see how they respond. "You have to be a people person," he said.
4. Be a communicator, without notes. Curphey said it can be difficult for an attorney to establish a rapport with a junior if he or she always is breaking up the flow by reading or checking notes. It all is part of preparation. And those English and public speaking classes are important to being a solid communicator. "I have dealt with attorneys who couldn't communicate," he said. "Litigators paper a case to death. A trial attorney has to talk to a jury."
5. Maintain relationships. Curphey said with social media today, it is easier to maintain relationships in your network. You might never know when those relationships can be valuable in the future.
6. Love research. "You need to be willing to do a lot of research," he said. "For every one hour in a courtroom, it takes 10 hours in the library."
7. Be prepared, even if you think your opponent's case is ludicrous. He once represented a man who was being sued by a neighbor, who claimed the client was an alien and that in communicating with his alien world, he had somehow made his neighbor ill. Curphey made sure the onus was on his opponent to prove his client was, indeed, an alien. Yes, Curphey won the case.
8. Use your imagination in key moments. In 2007, Curphy was trying to influence a jury to present his client, a Melbourne secretary who was being sexually harassed by her employers, with considerable damages that corresponded to the crime. He told the jurors in his closing argument, "Orlando is the magic world, and I wish you could wave a magic wand and make my client's pain go away. But you can't. You can't restore self-worth and dignity. So we have to do it with money." She received $1.3 million.