Personal Lives
Texas Lawyer Gives Kidney to Courtroom Opponent
Posted Mar 10, 2009 6:16 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Texas plaintiffs lawyer has donated a kidney to a frequent opponent in the courtroom.
Keith Langston of Daingerfield decided to donate a kidney after he learned from a colleague that lawyer Scott Skelton of Lufkin was nearing kidney failure, Legal Blog Watch reports.
Skelton, a partner with the Zeleskey Law Firm, was nearing the point where he would need dialysis as a result of his autoimmune disease, IgA nephropathy. Langston, an associate with Nix Patterson & Roach, immediately phoned Skelton when he learned of his need and offered his kidney, Texas Lawyer reports. Surgeons performed the operation on Feb. 12.
Langston and Skelton have faced off in asbestos cases brought by nearly 4,000 plaintiffs. Both are graduates of Baylor Law School, but they didn’t attend at the same time. Now both lawyers are advocates for organ donation, according to Cox News Service. “I want people to know that it only takes five or six days to help someone live a full and happy life,” Langston told Cox.
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Comments
B. McLeod
Mar 10, 2009 7:42 AM CST
Most articles about lawyer biology tend to address the spleen or gall. This is a nice change of pace.
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kgg
Mar 10, 2009 10:13 AM CST
A real hero. God Bless him!
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BAP
Mar 13, 2009 10:16 AM CST
Does this raise a future conflict issue? After all, the recipient of the kidney owes a great debt to the donor.
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Go BU
Mar 13, 2009 11:36 AM CST
Good PR for Baylor, too.
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SM
Mar 13, 2009 2:05 PM CST
I was thinking conflict as well.
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Adam
Mar 13, 2009 2:15 PM CST
Gosh, I don’t even always hold the gate open for opposing counsel.
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Lindsay Smith
Mar 13, 2009 3:39 PM CST
I donated my kidney to my mom in November, was admitted into the hospital on a Tuesday night and was discharge that same Thursday morning. I was back to work in about a week. It’s not really a big time commitment on the donor’s part. And the scarring’s minimal using laproscopic surgery. This article goes to show that attorney’s aren’t all that bad!
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Shells
Mar 13, 2009 3:39 PM CST
B. McLeod - You make me smile with your comments! Each week after the same headlines of attorney layoffs I swear that I will not waste my time opening this ABA e-journal. Come on ABA editors—there are plenty of interesting developments in law to write about. Enough of the weekly “attorney layoffs” as if it is breaking news.
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Roger Gannam
Mar 16, 2009 11:10 AM CST
I wonder if the donor removed his metadata first.
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