If there was a photograph of R. Gary Lowen that was not at least 20 years old, I would post it with this announcement of his selection as the Louisville Bar Association 2007 recipient of the Richard A. Revell Family Law Award. I refuse to print one that makes him look like he’s 30 years old.
If there was a photograph of R. Gary Lowen that was not at least 20 years old, I would post it with this announcement of his selection as the Louisville Bar Association 2007 recipient of the Richard A. Revell Family Law Award. I refuse to print one that makes him look like he’s 30 years old.
I hope the excellent and indispensable Kentucky Law Blog publishes details of all the awards to recipients: Hon. John G. Heyburn II , Hon. Donald E. Armstrong, Jr., H. Phillip Grossman, and retired Justice Martin E. Johnstone. The recipient of the Frank E. Haddad, Jr. Young Lawyer Award is Daniel M. Alaverz. Mr. Alvarez, you are in very esteemed company!
This post is really about Gary Lowen, whom I have mentioned in a previous post here.
Gary Lowen has done more than any other Louisville attorney I know to improve the collegiality of family lawyers. For 15 years he has welcomed all who will travel with him to Mississippi the first weekend of October, to listen to great blues (and experience the civil rights sites), with the larger aim of creating a community among the lawyers. Then, as he thinks we need them, he organizes these “You Piss Me Off” dinners.
He is down to earth. He gets along with everyone. How many people say that about a divorce lawyer? His clients are not the high and mighty and he serves them very well. He knows divorce and family law very well, but does not get bogged down with academics. He is practical.
Gary is a talented mediator. I once approached him about mediating a high asset divorce case in which my client was a sophisticated corporate executive. He said, no problem; you just add more zeros to the assets. Warily, I agreed to give it a try and he connected well with everyone, keeping us all at the table together throughout most of the sessions and settled the case.
The Enneagram thing is a theory haven’t subscribed to, but Gary has led more than one seminar on it and on how understanding personality differences can help settle cases and help dealing with opposing counsel. My thinking is that Gary has a phenomenal intuitive understanding of people and the enneagram just reaffirms what he already knows.
Gary’s greatest contribution to the family court bar is his unrelenting effort to have us know and like each other on a personal basis. From his many, many you “piss me off” dinners, to throwing a party at the VFW (or was it American Legion or Moose Club? It was just a darned good time!), to every year taking family lawyers and judges on a trip down south to listen to the blues, Gary has connected us and strived to improve our professionalism.
He was onboard from the outset of the collaborative family law movement until the realization hit that for low income families, this model wasn’t fitting. Legal theory is not the bedrock of Gary’s interests. Yet, as someone who loves the nuances of the law, I can say that he accomplishes a lot more for many more, and at less cost, than anyone else I can think of.
Congratulations, Gary. Your reward is richly deserved and I can’t wait to see Judge Revell present it to you later this month. The LBA will have a professional photographer in tow and capture a current image at last!
