Labor & Employment Law

William F. Heefner - In Memoriam

By Dobin & Jenks

My father graduated from law school in 1960 and took a job, from which he retired 40 years later, with a small firm called Curtin & Heefner in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. I don't really remember much about Mr. Curtin, but Mr. Heefner (one of the few lawyers on this planet that I would still call "Mr.") is burned into my brain.

He was a classy guy. Very distinguished. Always pleasant to me, both as a kid and as an adult. I learned from his obituary that he, like me, went to law school at night and worked during the day. One little-known fact about Mr. Heefner, not mentioned in the firm's press release, is that he knew how to operate an old-school style switchboard, the kind with the plug-in wires. I learned from him, and from my father, that no job is too small when it comes to making sure your law firm is operational. And it always paid to know how things worked.

Mr. Heefner was a mentor and model to those around him. He was generous to his community with his time and money. I remember more than one firm softball game at the gentleman's farm he had created in Perkasie. The world, the community and my family, are all better off because we knew Mr. Heefner and he will be remembered fondly by all.

Marc Dobin

Full post as published by The Law Planet Blog on October 21, 2008 (boomark / email).