[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING MEMPHIS LAWYER JAMES S. GILLILAND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2020

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Memphis 
lawyer, public citizen and community leader James S. Gilliland, who 
passed away Monday at 86. Jim was one of the great lawyers of Memphis 
with a sterling national reputation, having received every award for 
his phenomenal professionalism and active role in community affairs 
throughout his career. That included the 2018 ``Pillars of Excellence'' 
Award from the University of Memphis School of Law. Well respected in 
his hometown, Jim's service in Washington, as general counsel to the 
Department of Agriculture during the Clinton Administration, added to 
his prestige.
  Jim was born in Memphis and graduated from my alma mater, Vanderbilt 
University, and its law school, being named the Most Outstanding of the 
Law Class of 1957. After passing the bar, he served as a full-time 
prosecutor in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific and Far East, after which he 
returned home to join the then seven-lawyer firm now known as Glankler 
Brown PLLC. He became a partner and remained with the firm for 30 
years. By 1964, he had met and married Lucia Flowers and the couple had 
three fine children--Katherine, Elizabeth and James Jr.--who continue 
to reflect their parents' spirit of community involvement.
  Jim's civic commitment was seen in his service chairing the Liberty 
Bowl, the Memphis Cotton Carnival, the Memphis Arts Council and 
LeMoyne-Owen College boards of directors. Jim also oversaw the Memphis 
Mayoral Transition Team for our city's first African American Mayor, 
Willie Herenton. He received the Memphis Bar's Sam A. Myar, Jr. Award 
as the most outstanding young lawyer in 1972. In 1995, baseball 
champion Hank Aaron presented him with the United Negro College Fund's 
``Beacon of Hope'' Award for his work supporting minority education. He 
was a close friend and counsel to Al Gore throughout his political 
career.
  In 1993, President Clinton nominated Jim for the general counsel post 
at the Department of Agriculture and he was confirmed by the Senate. 
There he managed a legal staff of 200 lawyers in 23 regional offices 
around the country, dealing with the legal issues involved in 
agricultural production, international trade, food policy, the 
interests of the forestry industry and rural small towns.
  Returning to Memphis after his federal service, Jim became involved 
in local and national boards, including serving as chair of the 
American Battlefield Trust, the private partner of the National Park 
Service focused on preserving American battlefields. Jim was always 
supportive of me and other public servants and he and Lucia helped make 
Memphis a more tolerant and inclusive community.
  I extend my heartfelt condolences to Lucia, his wife of 55 years, and 
his children, his grandchildren, his colleagues and his many friends. 
His was a life well-lived.

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