Joe Jamail

“I was taught that a lawyer was supposed to be a custodian of the community's legal and ethical sense.”

“For me, being a lawyer means to help those in need.”

“The money doesn't really matter. I've been a multi-millionaire for a long time. My sons are rich.”

“For every dollar we have given to athletics, we have given about 27 to higher education or medical research.”

“There are more pompous, arrogant, self-centered, mediocre-type people running corporate America who should be sent out on some postal route delivering mail.”

“I think I'm doing some good. Obviously, I don't need any more money.”

“I love the system. Let me tell you why. People love it... The people, by and large, have great respect for our law and our system... Why do you think they go to that courthouse instead of killing each other in the streets, taking the law into their own hands?”

“I don't think the trial practice is dead. But it is very ill. There are some days you could throw a hand grenade down the hall of the Harris County Courthouse and not hit anybody.”

“You had to have a unanimous jury verdict, and one percent of contributory negligence barred all recovery. It was so satisfying to realize I could do it. And I'll tell you what motivated me: competitiveness. I was betting on me. That's what a contingent-fee lawyer does.”

“Your attitude will go a long way in determining your success, your recognition, your reputation and your enjoyment in being a lawyer.”

“If you start comparing my practice of law to what I could have been - selling bananas - you'll know why I gave money to the University of Texas.”

“I can't describe the feeling I got the first time I won a jury award for an injured person.”

“The trick is to learn to contain one's ego, not conceal it.”

“It has been pointed out to me, more than once, that for someone who chose a profession steeped in procedure and protocol, I had little use for either.”

“I love my wife. She had money when I didn't.”

“We've got some well-run corporations by some well-intended people who do it right.”

“Ever since I was a kid, I've known I could talk to people.”

“What did I know about lawyering? I just thought it was another way to stay in Austin for another three years.”

“I think the average American has forgotten the great feel for liberty and accountability that the framers of the Constitution believed.”

“I think Wallace Hall is an imbecile.”