In just a few weeks, Memphis attorney George Lawrence "Larry" Rice III and his wife, Joy, will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary, an accomplishment in its own right. It might be even more impressive considering Rice is a family law attorney and author of the books "Divorce Practice in Tennessee," "The Effective Ethical Lawyer" and "The Complete Guide to Divorce Practice: Forms and Procedures for Lawyers 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions."

Rice said he still remembers their first date, which was Dec. 14, 1969.

"I am a divorce lawyer who recognized a good deal when he got it, and has stayed married for 32 years," he said.

Over the summer, Rice traveled to Nevada to present a lecture on divorce to a group of attorneys there. Through his 30 years of practicing law, he has lectured to lawyers across the country on topics from law office management to ethics and trial practice.

Rice is a partner at Rice, Amundsen & Caperton PLLC, a firm that was started by his father in 1951. His son, George Lawrence "Nick" Rice also practices at the firm.

"My family has not interviewed for a job in the legal field for three generations," he said.

Q: What made you want to study law?

A: It's easy to say my father was a lawyer, but when I was in college I represented a group of students who sat in at a dorm, and once I tried my first case, I was hooked - that was it. My legal education was what I had to go through to get to try cases. The competition of ideas, knowledge and analysis that goes on in a good trial is virtually found no place else in our society. When I started practicing law and started getting to try cases, I knew I had found what I wanted to do and I didn't care whether it paid minimum wage - I loved doing it.

Q: Was it something you always wanted to do?

A: I was kind of interested in it, but I got interested in other things. I almost went off into communication arts, but once I tried my first case, that was it. That was what I wanted to do.

Q: Where are you from?

A: I am from Whitehaven. My parents were both from Memphis, never knew each other in Memphis, met at Cumberland College outside of Lebanon, Tenn., and got married. My father was in law school up there. My mother was going to be a Baptist missionary. My dad practiced in Jackson (Tenn.) for just a few months on their way back to Memphis. I was actually born in Jackson, but when I was about 3 months old they moved back here to Memphis.

Years later when I was a high school senior, Cumberland lost its law school and its four-year accreditation and became a junior college. I was the student council president from my high school and there was a girl named Joy Gaia who was the student council president from her school, Sacred Heart. The student council convention was at Cumberland, and we met there and we are married many years later.

Q: Where did you attend undergraduate and law school?

A: I graduated from Rhodes College, which was Southwestern then. I graduated in 1974 with a distinction in communication arts and honors in history. I also completed a course in British studies at Oxford at University College as part of my history degree. I graduated from Memphis State University Law School in 1976.

Q: What brought you to Rice, Amundsen & Caperton?

A: The firm was founded in 1951 when Cliff Bear Sr. ran for governor of Tennessee as an independent and he hired my dad to run things while he was on the campaign trail. The reason I went to Memphis State was so I could work at my dad's law firm, because working at a firm teaches you how to practice law.
Law school is what you have to go through to get to practice law. My dad was a general practice lawyer, beloved by all that knew him. It was a diverse firm. Dad did pretty much everything. Everybody back in the day did everything.

With the publication of my first book, the firm that had published it hired me to go do some lectures across the state. I thought I was a dandy writer, and I guess everybody thought I was a better lecturer, and I started being sent on lectures frequently. There was such a demand for my divorce system and that pulled me in the direction of divorce.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge so far?

A: I guess most recently it was when I represented the husband of a woman who admitted she was a witch, and I ended up with two surgeries, a misdiagnosis of cancer and a broken toe all within a few months. When we were getting ready to try the case, opposing counsel told me I had a conflict and I asked him what. He said, "You've seen what happens every time you do something that works for you in this case - you have a surgery, you break something, and so if you win this case, you could be in a lot of trouble." So we proceeded to try the case and my son was sitting second seat with me, and as luck and preparation would have it, the judge gave the other side less than we told the judge he ought to give the other side. And when the judge ruled, my son leaned over to me and he said, "You're a dead man now."

Q: What is the best part about your job?

A: One of the most enjoyable things I get to do is practice law with my son. He is the most gifted trial lawyer I have ever met. Up until about two years ago, I would have said it was trying a good case in front of a good judge, but now it's trying a good case in front of a good judge with my son.

Q: What are you most proud of, personally and professionally?

A: The team I practice with. I have three associates, three paralegals, and the team I work with I believe will look after each other before they will look out after themselves. And there a lot of teams that are not like that.

Q: If you had not become a lawyer, what would you be doing now?

A: Wishing I was a lawyer.

Q: What are your goals for the future?

A: To keep doing what we're doing at the level we're doing it now.

Personally, it is to not die. I've had a better life than most people who live to be 90, and if it was my time to go I couldn't complain, and that, I think, was the most rewarding thing.

My wife has been a real gift to me too, because I realize as a divorce lawyer, a lot of it is luck, and I was very lucky.

Q: What do you do when you are not working?

A: Big-game hunting. I was a little kid who was picked on, and I had issues about it, and sitting in my office I am looking at a stuffed grizzly bear on the wall, and it looks more impressive than a bunch of cancelled checks from a therapist.

I started hunting again at 40, and it moved me to do the physical work I need to do big-game hunting. When I shot him I felt all of those issues melt away. It was a unique feeling of humility and accomplishment both at the same time.