qm_winter_2016

“I have a memory of that if someone is a lawyer, they can help people, and I wanted to help people. Becoming a lawyer was a possibility in my far distant future. I also considered becoming a high school history teacher, and I also considered going to seminary. Ultimately, I decided to pursue to law. I’m sure that my teenage view was naïve; most teenagers are naive,” Mims said. We both chuckled at that last comment, and I was taken back to my teenage dreams and the idealism that has simultaneously pushed me to be a better person and left me disappointed when I haven’t reached my goals. But Mims said that he had great moments of satisfaction in law, especially when he was able to guide individuals or small companies through the complexities of the legal system. “I tell young law students now that a lawyer really in many ways holds the keys to the kingdom in a highly regulated society. Lawyers are the ones that can help others find a safe path through difficult circumstances,” Mims said.

Bill Mims: Justice, Senator, Delegate By Lydia Freeman

Before I called Justice Bill Mims, I created a quiet place in the floor of my grandparents’ spare bedroom, using the rollaway bed as a table and hoping no one would burst in to ask me if I wanted to play chess. “Hi, is this Mr. Mims?” As soon as the words leave my mouth I’m berating myself because I think I’m supposed to address him as “Justice Mims.” “You must be Lydia.” “Yes, sir. I’m excited to talk with you.” And I dove in to my questions, completely forgetting my customary speech where I preview my questions and explain my interview style. I’d been on the phone with this man for twenty seconds and I was already asking him how his “intense focus on the values of service and justice were instilled.” But Justice Mims rolled with it. “The service aspect really was instilled when I was a boy,” he began. “My father—my entire family—were ones who,” he paused. “I am the youngest of four children—so my earliest memories are of my family serving others in the community. I came to faith, I began to follow Jesus when I was fifteen years old, my faith also instructs service to others as our highest calling. It has really become ingrained.” I pried into the comment on his family, wanting to know what example they had set. I wanted the story. He shared about his sister, Diane, and her service to disabled young people in her own youth. He shared about his mother’s service to the church and his father’s to the community. How they didn’t push him to serve, but provided a powerful example of service. Mims decided on law because he felt like it was a career in which he could do the most good. When I asked him about it, he said he didn’t know how he came to that realization, but he’d believed it since he was a young teen.

V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2016

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