When Weatherford ’ s own Tom Vick was sworn in as the 137 th president of the State Bar of Texas on June 23 , it marked two big firsts — the first State Bar president from Parker County , and the first family practice attorney to hold the esteemed office . A few days after taking office , Vick sat down with Marsha Brown , PCT ’ s editorin-chief , to talk about life , law and the Peach Festival .
Tom Vick can ’ t recall a time in his life when he didn ’ t want to be a lawyer . The son of well-loved local attorney Gabe Vick , some of his earliest and happiest memories center around spending Saturdays in his father ’ s office in downtown Weatherford , watching quietly as his father helped people solve the overwhelmingly complicated problems of life . Today , he works from the office where his father practiced law .
How much did those great , early memories have to do with Vick ’ s decision to become a lawyer ?
“ Oh , probably everything ,” Vick said . “ A lot of children of lawyers decide to become lawyers . It ’ s very prevalent .”
Not only was Gabe Vick an attorney , he was a Parker County Judge for a good long while .
“ Occasionally , I went to the courthouse with him when he conducted a wedding ,” Vick said . One of his favorite stories about his father centered around just such an occasion .
In the presence of the bride , her family , and friends , the groom , turned to Judge Vick and asked , how much he owed the judge for performing the marriage ceremony .
“ In the finest spirit of Access to Justice and making legal services available based on what the client could afford , he looked at the groom and said , ‘ Whatever you think she ’ s worth !’ That was my first lesson in value billing .”
What influenced his father to decide to become a lawyer ?
“ I have no idea ,” Vick said . “ I just showed up in this world , and he was already a lawyer .”
Gabe Vick served in the Korean War and upon his return home , enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin .
“ He became a lawyer and my uncle became a dentist ,” Vick said .
Accompanying his father as he campaigned is another of Vick ’ s happy , early memories .
“ He was running for county judge when I was 9 years old . I ’ d ride around the county with him in his old black 1958 Pontiac ,” Vick said . “ He would stop at coffee shops and businesses , he ’ d hand out cards and talk to people about their problems .”
Tom Vick loved meeting those people and watching as his father talked to them and helped them . Vick always looked forward to those Saturdays .
When he grew up , he pursued his goal of becoming an attorney , by heading to Austin College in Sherman , where he played on the basketball team , as he pursued his bachelors degree , then to South Texas College of Law , in Houston , where he earned his law degree graduating in 1981 .
Once Vick reached that goal , he returned to Weatherford to practice law with his dad .
Like his father , Vick was and still is a firm believer in the importance of giving back to his community . Even as a young attorney , while working hard to establish his law practice , he never shrank from serving his community .
At the age of 27 , Vick was elected mayor of Weatherford , the second youngest mayor in the city ’ s history .
“ Jim Wright was the youngest mayor in Weatherford ’ s history . He beat me by 45 days ,” Vick said .
While Vick served as mayor , Weatherford made a number of strides that probably would not have happened without Vick ’ s leadership , including construction of a new city hall , the one Weatherford operates from now , as well as a new fire station . It was all accomplished without a tax increase .
During that time , the Parker County Peach Festival made its debut in the parking lot of College Park Shopping Center .
Of course , Mayor Vick was in attendance , along with a few dozen others .
“ That ’ s what you do when you ’ re the 27-year-old mayor of Weatherford ,” Vick said . “ Who would have imagined that it would grow into the big event that we see today ?”
Even then , Vick envisioned Weatherford putting on more events , fun events that would attract people from around the state and make young couples want to move to Weatherford and raise their families here . “ Those ideas were met with a lot of resistance ,” Vick said , adding that he ’ s pleased at the direction the city is going . He looks out the window of his office , quiet as he watches workers put together the Peach Festival .
While he served as mayor , Vick continued to work hard growing his practice . Today , he ’ s considered one of the best family practice attorneys in the county , as well as the state .
Today , about 95 percent of Vick ’ s practice consists of family law , while the rest consists of working as local council . “ I have some businesses where I ’ m local council ,” Vick said . “ Lawyers have big cases from around the state or around the country , and they want to hire a lawyer that ’ s from here , that knows how the courts work , and how the system goes here .”
Gabe Vick was in general practice throughout most of his career . “ He started out as a general practitioner ,” Vick said . “ When I was 12 or 13 , I actually watched him try a felony theft case of a guy that robbed a jewelry store . My dad handled a lot of divorces , all kinds of litigation and he wrote a lot of wills . He did a lot of probate . He used to tell me , “ When you ’ re young you can do a lot of wills ,
SEPTEMBER 2017 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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