Griffin Speaks
CLIMBING JACOB'S LADDER
On
Wednesday, January 3rd 2007 my son Greg Jr. had a watershed
experience. Greg Jr. a 3.8 GPA student at St. Jude Educational Institute in Montgomery, Alabama attended a
lecture presented by the great trial attorney Jock Smith. Jock Smith, a
Tuskegee, Alabama attorney is a senior partner in the Cochran Firm. Born in New York City, Jock began practicing law in
Alabama in 1977. Before becoming one of the greatest trial lawyers in the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Jock was an Assistant Attorney General
for the State of Alabama. Jock has successfully obtained many record setting
verdicts and settlements too numerous to list in this column. Two of those
verdicts were an $80 million verdict and a $1.6 billion dollar verdict, the
largest verdict in America for the year 2004. It was also the largest
verdict in American history for an African American attorney as lead
counsel.
Greg Jr. was so excited. He asked me if I knew Attorney
Jock Smith. I said of course. “He is one of the greatest attorneys to ever
walk the face of the earth. In fact Jock’s wife was my lead expert witness
during my tenure as Utilities Litigator for the State of Alabama’s
Attorney General Office. I told Greg Jr. that I had only met Jock Smith a
few times but I knew his story. Well I was wrong. I did not know Jock
Smith’s story. Greg Jr. asked me to purchase a copy of Jock’s book,
“Climbing Jacob’s Ladder”. I was embarrassed to admit that I had not
read the book. I had intended on purchasing it years ago, but because I
thought I knew the story I delayed the purchase.
I went to two major bookstores and each was out of the book. I decided to check with New South Books located at 105 South Court Street Montgomery, Alabama. The web address is: www.newsouthbooks.com
The phone number is: 334-834-3556. I knocked on the
locked door and a lady opened the door and invited me inside. I told her
that I was looking for a copy of “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder”. She said
that she would have to order the book. Just as she was telling me that she
would have to order the book I noticed a few copies on the shelf behind her.
I purchased the book and immediately began to read it.
I am an avid reader and on average read two books a
week. I have read hundreds of books in my life and I must confess Jock
Smith’s “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder is one of the best books I have ever
read. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to be successful in
Life! I am intentionally not telling the story that Jock tells so well. It
is a fascinating story. If it were
fiction you wouldn’t believe it! Jock is a fantastic storyteller, and
his co-author Paul Hemphill is a fantastic writer. I certainly hope that
Jock has sent a copy of this book to Oprah Winfrey.
In the words of my dad: “I don’t want a lawyer
representing me in court talking like a mouse, SPEAK
UP!”
Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com or write to him at P.O. Box 250194 Montgomery, Alabama 36125-0194.