Attorney at Law mini preview Timothy L. Baker : Page 6“I love crime movies and dramas,” Baker said. The busy litigator is also passionate about murder mystery novels. He’s been known to read as many as three in a week. “I think if I had a different career it would’ve been as an FBI profiler,” he mused. Manhattan’s Legal Maverick “I always wanted to help people,” Baker said.” That was probably my main rationale for wanting to be a lawyer.” Initially, however, Baker only chose to study law due to the influence of his father. “My dad was not educated but he was very smart,” Baker said. “He said that being a lawyer is the highest calling one could make other than the clergy and medicine.” The freshly minted attorney began his legal career in Manhattan at McKeon, Vaughn and Wolfe in 1982. “I went to work for MVW for $500 per month,” Baker said. “They told me, ‘Tim, your salary is a matter of confidence. Don’t go around talking about it. Don’t worry, I told them. I’m just as ashamed of it as you are.” The following year, while on a beach outing with some friends, the young bachelor met the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Melanie Vivian Wilson. “I went to work for MVW in more ways than one,” Baker mused as he contemplated the particular coincidence that marked such a significant time in his life. The young couple married a year later and they remain so to this day. Baker’s aspirations for public office lingered on to some degree. However, his new bride had other plans. “I married a Cherry Creek girl and she was not interested in me being in public life,” Baker said of his one-time political ambitions. “She’s a very private person.” Cherry Creek, the tiny city of Melanie’s birth, fades into oblivion when compared with the monstrosity of New York City. It is a virtually unknown village with a population of less than a thousand. It is geographically dwarfed by its neighboring Allegheny State Park. When he and Melanie first began to make plans for a life together, Baker recalled that he had a hard time convincing his then girlfriend of the value of big city life. “It was hard because we were really struggling at first,” Baker said. “But she soon fell as much in love with the city as I was with her.” A break finally came for the young, poorly paid attorney in 1983. The lawyer father of a friend named Jim Smith offered Baker a position with his firm. The firm, which ultimately came to be named Smith and Baker, stayed together until 1995. The friends decided partner up with longtime colleague and trusted friend, David Jones. The three soon launched their own firm. Since then the firm has expanded to include offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Down to Earth Those that have never spoken with Baker may entertain images of a fast-talking, meticulously coiffed, yet appropriately high-strung litigant. He might exchange endearing and impossibly witty quips with a beautiful bevy of competent peers as they cruise the hall to nail their next case. One could reasonably expect to encounter such a sight if they were to schedule a meeting with Baker in person. As the only comparable specimen they would have to refer to are hot-shot screen stealers regularly portrayed in the pampered, pop-culture realm of the legal world. In Baker’s case however, life appears to have no intention of imitating art. Any agitation one may be experiencing while placing a call to Baker are sure to evaporate in the presence of the adroit attorney’s unassuming tone and tranquil demeanor. This enviable disposition doesn’t come naturally however, Baker assures us. It is something he has perfected over the years. “There were times I’d work such long hours that I’d completely lose track of time,” he said of his younger years when first starting his firm. “My wife would call me at the office and remind me what time it was. She started to worry.” Publication List Using a screen reader? Click Here |
