J.W. "Bill" Dietzen - A Lawyer's Lawyer - And Response (2)

  • Thursday, March 19, 2015

Bill Dietzen began practicing law in 1955.  In 1984, my father joined his firm.  Their partnership continued until Tuesday, when the Lord called Bill home.  

In the beginning of their partnership, I, the oldest of three sons, was four. As one might imagine, many things transpired, good and bad, between then and today. Bill was there for it all.  

I began law school in 2005, graduating in May 2008.  Upon graduation, I planned to sit for the Tennessee bar exam in July of that year.  

Between May and July, I spent most of my time in the old UTC library studying bar prep material, but I always managed to find time to walk down to Dietzen & Atchley’s office just about lunch time (they always ate lunch together when their schedules permitted, a tradition that continued after I joined the firm and until Bill was not well enough to continue). Bill was as interested and encouraging in my studies as anyone. The day before the bar exam, the three of us met for lunch, but I was too nervous to eat. Try to stay calm, Bill told me.  

The bar exam is administered in July. The results are announced in October.  During the intervening time, the firm set up space for me in a make-shift office and employed me as sort of a paralegal.  

Between July and October, I think everyone who takes the bar convinces himself that he failed it before the results are announced. I was no exception.  

The results of the bar exam are announced in a very public way, when the board of law examiners simply publishes the names of those who passed.  If you find your name, congratulations are in order. 

Today, as in 2008, the results are posted online.  So, October 21, 2008, I was at the office, checking the website to see if the results were posted, refreshing the page every few seconds.  

In an instant, the results were posted. I was excited. My father was excited.  Bill may have been the most excited of all. That is the way he was.  

A formal legal education and law license are obviously necessary accomplishments to begin practicing law, but one’s legal education hardly stops there.  In many ways, an attorney’s education is only beginning and continues throughout his career, which is why it is said that attorneys practice law.     

Bill acted as a mentor to me, sharing with me the wisdom and knowledge he had acquired through his 50-plus years of practice.  His door was always open, and he was always available to help me.  In fact, in an act of true graciousness and generosity, he gave me his office and moved his to the room I had occupied when I was employed as a paralegal.  It would be difficult for me to overstate how grateful I am for all that he did for me.  

Bill was an exceptional attorney, truly a lawyer's lawyer, who knew not only the letter of law but also understood the policies underpinning it, and he demonstrated impeccable character and ethics. He was also exceedingly gracious and generous.  He epitomized all to which which the profession aspires. I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to practice law with him and to have benefited from his wisdom and knowledge.  

Goodbye, brother Dietzen.  It will not be the same here without you. 

Trevor Atchley 

* * * 

Trevor, we have not had the pleasure to meet. But I know your dad and I knew Bill. It is sad when we lose a mentor and an honorable member of the Bar as Bill Dietzen, 

Your account of the anxiety of passing the tests and being sworn in as a lawyer brought back to me the same feelings.  And that was 30 plus years ago. 

Bill and his brother, along with your dad, have been respected as the best in Chattanooga. 

The last few times I saw Bill was at the cancer center getting chemo. I was there with my wife. Bill always asked about her as if his illness was just routine. That was a couple of years ago and I will never forget our talks and the smiles and kindness he showed to my wife and me.  

May God rest his soul.

Randy Russell

* * *

Amen to the opinions of Trevor Atchley and Randy Russell of Bill Dietzen. Although I had known of Bill for years, I only got to know the person in 1997. In August of that year I leased space from Bill and Fielding Atchley. Shortly thereafter, Bill returned from the annual seminar presented by the Tennessee Law Institute late one evening. He called to Fielding and me to explain a new point of law. He did not want us to make a mistake. When I decided to run for chancellor in1998, Bill and Fielding both helped me, even if it could be to their financial detriment.  Later, Marian and I moved in 2001 to a home near Bill and Wilma Dietzen. He insisted our grandchildren take a shortcut to the playground by using his driveway and back yard. When we told our oldest grandson of Bill's death and asked him if he remembered Mr. Dietzen, he replied that Mr. Dietzen was the very nice man who let us use his yard and always showed us his model trains. Bill Dietzen was a very good lawyer but he was even a better person. We who knew him are better for the experiences we had with Bill. He will be greatly missed but he lives on in all of the lives he touched and helped.

Frank Brown

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