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Kevin Loper
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Staff Photo by Danielle Moore Attorney Kevin Loper leaves the courtroom after hearing the docket read at the Hamilton County - Chattanooga Courts Building.
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Young Chattanooga attorney Kevin Loper had a great job with a Knoxville firm just months after graduating from law school in May of 2008.
But the Mobile, Ala., native would leave seven months later to become a solo practitioner and take on criminal defense work here.
Trading in a salaried law firm position for an individual practice can be a risky move for young lawyers, but it can pay off professionally, especially when someone like Mr. Loper is passionate about getting real courtroom experience.
One of Mr. Loper's mentors when he came here was veteran Chattanooga attorney Barry Abbott. While breaking out on one's own forces a lawyer to give up higher pay in the short term, Mr. Abbott said that valuable courtroom experience is gained.
Mr. Abbott said such experience is preferable for young lawyers like Mr. Loper who might have otherwise risked becoming "pigeonholed" in a larger firm, never being allowed to litigate cases in court.
"This was a great move for Kevin, and I think he's been successful doing it," Mr. Abbott said.
Mr. Loper now goes to Hamilton County Criminal Court every day. He is working on about 60 cases dealing with everything from rape and attempted murder to petty theft.
He also has been branching out into civil law, since gritty criminal defense work tends to be excellent training ground for litigating all types of cases.
Defending all types of cases not only has given Mr. Loper better experience, but has allowed him to "make a difference" with his career choice.
Mr. Loper remembered last year winning a case for a woman whose employer had denied her workers' compensation benefits for an injury she had sustained on the job.
"It's at least once a week and sometimes daily that I feel really good about what I was able to do for someone," Mr. Loper said. "Working at my old job, I never got that sense that I was really able to help people out, and that's important to me."
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