Legal News

Who Needs Retirement? 101-Year-Old Lawyer Chugging Right Along

By Ashby Jones

To all those lawyers on the cusp of retirement, consider this fact. When Jack Borden was 60, he still had at least 40 more years of work in front of him. And now, at 101, the Weatherford, Texas lawyer seems determined to put in a few more.

Borden, who turned 101 earlier this week, still dons a coat and tie every weekday and heads down to his Weatherford, Texas, law office, where he puts in a full-day’s work as a probate and real-estate lawyer. Click here for a story from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram; here for another, from the Dallas Morning-News.

According to the stories, Borden is the oldest practicing member of the Texas Bar, and earlier this week was honored as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2009.

The stories doesn’t explore exactly who is paying Borden to keep on chugging (and we wonder about that), but they do paint a picture of a man completely devoted to — and in love with — the practice of law, which he started doing in 1936. Part of his love stems from the fact, it seems, that his work is keeping him alive. “If I were to go home and sit down, I wouldn't live another year,” he said. “I come down here” - to his office - “really to live.”

It’s unclear to us that the story imparts any secrets to longevity; Borden calls the secret to a long life “not dying.” But Borden seems a big believer in routine. Reads the story:

After a country breakfast - biscuit and gravy, sausage, a cup of black coffee - he will shower and dress, in a coat and tie, his live-in caretaker helping him with the buttons of his freshly starched shirt.

By 6:30 a.m., attorney Jack Borden will be sitting at his desk.

Each weekday, the oldest practicing member of the State Bar of Texas returns home from his office at about 11 a.m. He eats lunch. After a 45-minute nap, he heads back to his office, where he works on probate and real estate cases, his legal specialty, until 4 p.m.

In any event, Borden (Weatherford College/University of Texas Law School) had a colorful career. He has served as the Parker County, Texas, district attorney, as a two-term mayor of Weatherford, and as a special agent for the FBI.

Some other great tidbits:

• Borden’s father wore “underwear made from flour sacks”;
• During law school, he worked at a restaurant fountain as a soda jerk and as a janitor.
• He still chews tobacco, a habit he picked up during the Wilson Administration.

Photo: Rodger Mallison/Star-Telegram

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 07, 2009 (boomark / email).