Broadus A. Spivey: Practicing Law—Sure Beats Picking Cotton BY MIKE THOMPSON JR.
No matter your troubles, bear them with grace and remember there are no small cases for clients.
T
he Austin Bar lost a legal legend with the passing of Broadus A. Spivey on May 8, 2021. The obituary in the Austin American Statesman aptly illustrated a life well lived. Nothing was more extraordinary to me than the fact he tried over 500 jury trials and mentored over 200 law clerks during his career. As one of those former law clerks, a former client, and an opposing counsel, Broadus taught me a lot. Anyone who knew Broadus could confirm his workday began early and would not be surprised to see a string of emails from him beginning at 4:30 a.m. This was no doubt a result of his agrarian upbringing picking cotton (with his love of simplicity, he would correct me for using “agrarian” rather than “farming”). He expected the same from clerks. Given that work ethic, Broadus also often worked through lunch “lawyering.” Because of his experience, he suggested I learn to eat a big breakfast (at Cisco’s, no doubt) to compensate for missed lunches I could expect while trying cases. He also recommended a big tip for waitstaff. (That, too, probably at Cisco’s.) As a boss, Broadus could be demanding, but he also allowed his clerks a great deal of freedom to learn the trade. I worked with him as a law clerk on one case in El Paso against the El Paso Times in the mid-1980s. Broadus included me in many aspects of the case and had me babysit an expert witness who happened 10
AUSTINLAWYER | JULY/AUGUST 2021
TOP LEFT: Broadus Spivey in the Amazon forest, proving he could talk to anyone. ABOVE: Broadus Spivey, photo credit: State Bar of Texas Archive. LOWER LEFT: Dicky Grigg and Broadus Spivey.
to be a Pulitzer prize-winning author and journalist. That was amazing for a student at my age. I remember the experience as if it were yesterday. I know from talking with other clerks that they had similar experiences. Of course, I suspect “law clerking” at his shop was different than others. I doubt clerks at other offices learned such important things as always loading the toilet paper in the office bathroom like the five-star hotels do (with the paper pulled down from the front). Or where to stand for the TV camera or pictures so your girlfriend and folks could see you (on the right side facing the camera because people read from left to right.)
Or, how to not laugh or smile in those pictures because it must be an important moment in a big case if someone is filming it or taking pictures. Broadus was a great attorney, as I saw through my eyes as a client. One morning before court while my case was in trial, he had an appointment with his oncologist to review some test results. In retrospect, I can only imagine the stress he was under waiting to get the report and then going to court to represent
me. Yet he never shared or showed it. It was a meaningful experience for me: No matter your troubles, bear them with grace and remember there are no small cases for clients. He was also a tough adversary. He had some large verdicts, including one of the largest legal malpractice verdicts in Texas history. He was tenacious, to be sure, but willing to disagree without extreme hostility. He could be your best friend and your toughest adversary. And, he
He could be your best friend and your toughest adversary. And, he was able to do both with a smile.
