ATLANTA—DeKalb County State Court Judge J. Antonio DelCampo announced Tuesday he will resign his post and join the plaintiffs' law firm Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo. DelCampo broke the news to his colleagues on the bench during their regular monthly judges meeting Tuesday at noon. He told the Daily Report that he made the decision to return to private practice after he learned that he would not be offered a federal judgeship in Georgia's Northern District, a lifetime appointment for which he had been under consideration for the past two years. "When that didn't materialize, I thought, now is a good time," DelCampo said. "When one door closes, several more may open. It wasn't meant to be. That's perfectly fine. I think one day I'm going to look back and say, 'Thank God I didn't get that federal judgeship.'"
DelCampo, 43, was a plaintiffs' lawyer in 2002 when Gov. Roy Barnes appointed him to the bench. He said he first met the partners of Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo when they tried a case in his courtroom for a week and a half in April 2009. The case was Mundy v. Ford Motor Co.
Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo won a $40 million verdict for its client, a 24-year-old woman who was paralyzed after being run over by her 2004 Ford Explorer while it was shifted into park. The firm presented evidence of 751 complaints regarding Ford vehicles shifting themselves into reverse after being put in park. The verdict was the single biggest in Georgia for 2009 and the 45th largest in the country that year, according to VerdictSearch.
"I remember telling my wife, if I ever went back to private practice, these are the guys I'd want to practice with. They did a phenomenal job, and they're great people," DelCampo said.
So when President Barack Obama last month nominated V. Natasha Perdew Silas and Linda T. Walker to fill the last open federal judgeships in Atlanta, Del Campo talked to his family and made the decision to return to private practice. The first call he made was to Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo.
The three partners told the Daily Report that they were surprised and pleased to hear from the judge.
"It's a huge honor and a bit of a shock to me," said Stephen G. Lowry.
"It was absolutely a no-brainer from a legal perspective," said Darren W. Penn. "From a personality perspective, Tony fits like a glove. It's a perfect match."
"The timing was fantastic," said Jeffrey R. Harris. "Our practice is rapidly evolving, expanding and changing. We're dong a lot more business, intellectual property and complex civil litigation."
Expansion makes sense now because the five-year-old firm is busier than ever. Last year, Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo reported winning verdicts totaling $77 million.
They include an $11.5 million order from U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land against the United States Postal Service for a woman who was catastrophically injured, along with her unborn child, when a mail truck driver ran her car off the road; a $43 million judgment against George Houser, an attorney and a Rome nursing home operator, for starving a patient; and a $17.5 million verdict for Corey Airport Services against the city of Atlanta, Clear Channel Communications and Barbara Fouch for awarding contracts unfairly at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Harris said the judge's experience hearing complex civil litigation will be an "incredible asset" to the firm. "Lawyers don't get the broader perspective," Harris said. "Judges have to rule on whatever is put before them, which means they have to become experts in whatever the lawyers bring to their attention. We're looking forward to capitalizing on that."
DelCampo admitted leaving his job is "bittersweet" for him. "Some of my best professional relationships are with my colleagues on the bench," he said. "We have a great bench in DeKalb."
DelCampo declined to comment on the recent resignation of his colleague, DeKalb State Court Judge Barbara J. Mobley, who left to end a Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission inquiry into allegations of misconduct and possible ethical and criminal violations. Mobley's is just one of a chain of recent judicial resignations related to JQC investigations.
DelCampo allowed that he is concerned about any potential for his resignation to be misunderstood. "I want to make sure that people don't think I'm leaving because of any JQC-related issue, because that's not it at all," DelCampo said.
DelCampo said his resignation will be effective March 15. During the next month, he will work to help ensure a smooth transition, including for the DUI Court that he helped start.
DelCampo said his decision was part financial. "I have a teenage son and a 10-year-old daughter in private schools, with college looming," he said. "Unfortunately, we don't compensate our judges well enough."
DeKalb State Court Clerk Melanie F. Wilson said the judges' annual salaries are $152,966.75.
The partners would not discuss the financial details of their agreement, but they did say they plan to change the name of their firm to Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo.
Beyond the financial aspect, the decision represents a career crossroad for DelCampo, who said being a judge was a great opportunity and a rewarding job. But he missed being a trial lawyer. "When you see good lawyers try good cases, sometimes you get the itch," he said. "It's time to stop being the referee and get in the game."
