NOVEMBER 14, 2005 VOL. 21 NO. 37 WOOTTON S WORLD

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1 NOVEMBER 14, 2005 VOL. 21 NO. 37 WOOTTON S WORLD

2 BankruptcyAttorneyBringsBalancetoLife,Lawand Okra bymarkdonald MARK GRAHAM Dale Wootton Aslongastherootsarenotsevered,alliswellinthegarden. ChaunceyGardener, BeingThere, 1979 DaleWootton lawyer,restaurateur,raconteur,gardener recallsthathe was frazzled on Oct. 28, frazzled because he was still electronically filing bankruptcy schedules at 6:30 p.m., an hour before the start of Poetry Night at his Garden Café; frazzled because he had recentlylosthisrestaurantmanagerandhadtoruntheeastdallaseateryhimself;frazzledbecause his guest chef couldn t get the oven started and 60 starving customers who had paid $25 a pop shortlywouldbeexpectingagourmetmealofclay braisedturkeyorplum smokedpork. Sohedidwhathealwaysdoes,whenthestressofhislawpracticegetstoooverwhelmingorthe weightoftheworldgetstoooppressive.hewalkedtothelargevegetableandherbgardenbehindhis lawoffice,whichsharesacommonbackyardwithhisrestaurant,andpaused.thenhepickedsprigs ofrosemarytoenhancethepresentationoftheevening sselections. I decided a long time ago that I could have a garden or a psychiatrist, says Wootton, a Dallas solo. In the middle of the day when I am dealing with a particularly frustrating case, or feeling pressuredbyajudge,ipicksomeokraorpullsomeweeds it stherapy. Theharvestingmusthavehelpedbecauseby7:30p.m.,WoottonexudedaZen likecalm,playing theroleofhostwithnear perfectpitch genteel,gracious,glib.withaclipboardinonehandanda glassofcabernetintheother,heaskeddiners manyofwhomwerewoottonregulars ifthey plannedonrecitingtonight. Ididn tknowifiwasgoingtoread,butiknewtherewasnowayiwasgoingtomissthis, says realestatelawyerkennethmartin,thefounderofdallas KennethD.Martin&Associates. Listening tosomeladyreadinge.e.cummingsismorebeneficialformysoulthanmakingalotofmoneyinmy practice. Fifteenwannabepoets,sixofwhomarelawyers,signeduptoread.Somewouldrecitetheirown

3 work; others would read more renowned poets. Those looking for a poetry slam would have to go elsewhere. This was a warm hearted, slightly liquored up crowd of establishment types barristers, doctors, journalists and real estate agents. No dark, brooding revolutionaries were in attendance.therewasn taberetinthebunch. Woottonsetthetoneashealwaysdoes.Thebalancehebringstohispersonalandprofessional life could be taught in a CLE course on attorney quality of life issues. He is The Likeable Lawyer. Despitehelpingraisefourchildren(threearegrown,oneisahighschoolsenior),heisaregularat coffee houses and restaurants around Dallas. He can be seen dining at the trendiest restaurants, attendingthehottestgalleryopenings oftenonthesamenight. Heisoneofthosesix degrees ofseparation people, says Julie Ehret, a Poetry Night regular who is of counsel at Dallas Bickel & Brewer. I malwaysrunningintosomeonewhoknowshim.he saverysocialguy. Wootton says he just appreciates the fine art of lively conversation conversation that takes rootinhisownrestaurant.duringlunch,hewilltaketimefromhisbankruptcypracticeandkibitz withcustomers localsandlawyersmostly becomingasmuchapartofthebrandingofhiscafé asthefooditself.healsocooks,servesandsweeps,asneeded. AlthoughhisGardenCaféwasbreathingrarefiedairforPoetryNight,itsstandardfareisdownhome helpings of chicken and dumplings, meatloaf or catfish with many vegetable sides grown freshinthegarden.openforbreakfastandlunchsincenovember2002,therestaurantisanextensionofitsowner:comfortable,easygoing,welcoming. Iamjustameatloafandmashedpotatoeskind ofguy, sayswootton,whodescribeshisrestaurantas nothingfancy,justaneighborhoodcooking joint. Wootton,whooftendressesinshortsandsandalsinthesummerandbluejeansandtennisshoes in the winter, has no pretensions about who he is. I tell my clients: If you want a downtown pinstripedlawyer,youneedtogodowntown. Mostclientslaughandseemtoloveit. Over the past 35 years, he has handled high profile bankruptcy cases but prides himself on representingconsumersandmom and popbusinesses. Idosometrusteeworkandsomecreditor work,butit sthelittlecasesthatcaptureyourheart, hesays. Theoneswhereyougetasmallfee andabighug. EveryoneintheDallasbankruptcybarknowsDale, saysfriendandattorneyjohncollins,past presidentofthetexastriallawyersassociation. Heislowkeyinthecourtroombutwell prepared onthelawandthefacts. It would seem that a bankruptcy attorney would have more sense than to open a restaurant where the risk of business failure is staggering. A bankruptcy judge once asked me how my restaurantwascomingalong, recallswootton,hismellifluousvoiceeasyontheear. Well,Ijumped backandsaid, Ihavefileddozensofrestaurantbankruptcies,andthereisnowayIwouldbestupid enoughtoopenarestaurant.that swhyiamopeningacafé. ButtheGardenCaféismorethanjustacafé.It sasalonsocietywherewoottoncancelebratea writer friendwithabooksigningoralawyer friendwithaphotographyexhibit.it sthealgonquin Round Table for the chicken fried steak set where the friends of Wootton who are many and varied aredrawntosharetheirstories,theirphilosophies,theirlives.andit sawayforaveteran lawyertogentlyeaseoutofhisbankruptcypractice,becauseheisdisheartenedbyadramaticchange inthelaw. Four times a year, it s also a poetry reading, a call for lawyers and doctors and businesspeople andhomemakers thosewithatouchofthepoet torevealtheirfeelingsinverse. Master of Ceremonies Iwanttowelcomeeverybody Ithinkwehaveagreatcrowdtonight,alotofregulars,alotof new people, said Wootton. He was nestled into the poet s corner of his restaurant, which itself is nestledinthecornerofaquaint1920sstorefrontthatwoottonrestoredin1991partlytohousehis law office. Poetry Night all got started about 10 years ago in my house because my 11 year old daughterstartedwritingpoetry. To give her a venue for her work, Wootton decided he would invite friends over to a potluck dinnerandrequirethemtobringadishandapoem.afterheopenedthecafé,hedecidedtotakethe poetry reading public. We think this is unusual, no one else in Dallas does this, and we are real

4 proudofit, addedwootton,speakingsoftlyintoafloormikeandsittingbesideafloorlamp,aprop thatgavetheproceedingsthefeelofhome. TheideafortheGardenCaféwasalsosparkedbyhischildren. Actually,itstartedoutasajoke, recallswootton. Iusedtocookallthetimeformysonandhisneighborhoodfriends,andtheywould say, Welikeyourcooking.Youshouldopenuparestaurant. AndIwouldsay, That sthedumbest thingieverheard.i malawyer.i mtoobusy. Butwhenaspaceopenedinhisbuilding whichin additiontohislawofficehousesaday carecenter,acostumedesignerandanantiquestore the ideadidn tseemsodumbanymore. Truthis,Woottonisalifetimefoodie;therestaurantgenerunsinhisfamily.Manyoftherecipes atthegardencaféwereoriginallycreatedbywootton smotherwho,togetherwithhisfather,owned andoperatedtwodallasrestaurants oneanupscalerestaurantintheadolphushotel,theothera barbecuehangoutineastdallas.throughouthighschool,woottonworkedinahamburgerjoint.in college,hewasthecookforhisroommates: Ihavealwayscookedforfunandsurvival, hesays. A potofpintobeanswouldlastaweek. While he attended Southern Methodist University School of Law, his mother, then recently widowed, became the manager of the dining hall at Lawyers Inn, the student dormitory where she workedforthenext10years. HalfthelawyersinDallasknowher, Woottonsays. Shewasliketheir denmother. Not even a three month stint in a Navy mess hall during basic training could stymie his food fanaticism.asanavyjagofficer,hewasassignedtothepentagonuntilhelefttheservicein1970.he thenreturnedtodallasandhunghisshingle. Ihavealwaysthoughtgoingsolowasareactiontothe Navy, Woottonsays. Iwantedtheoppositeofstructure. Hesayshestruggledforafewyears,slowlybuildingabusinesslitigationpractice,whichbecame morefocusedonbankruptcyaftertheu.s.bankruptcytrusteeindallasappointedhimascasetrustee in several bankruptcies where the primary asset in need of protection was real estate shopping centers,warehouses,rawland. The1980ssavings and loancrisiswasaboontobankruptcyandcriminal defenselawyersalike, andwoottonbecamethecourt appointedtrusteetothebankruptestateofex highrollerdondixon, theformerheadofvernonsavingsandloanwhowasconvictedindallasfederalcourtofbankfraud andservedmorethanthreeyearsinprison. WoottonwasalsoappointedtrusteeinthebankruptestateofRonCohen,aformerstockbroker whowassomesmerizingheevenbilkedaformeru.s.attorneyforthenortherndistrictoftexas,one of the many prominent victims of what was widely regarded at the time as the largest stock fraud caseindallashistory.cohenpleadedguiltytomoneylaunderingandreceivedan11 yearsentence. I hadtosueeveryonewhohadavoidablepreferencetobringthemoneybackintotheestate, recalls Wootton. Yet Wootton gravitated to small debtor cases little old ladies with $60,000 worth of credit carddebtwhoareonsocialsecurityandworriedtodeath, hesays. IusedtotellmychildrenthatI workedatoneofthefewjobswhereyoucanhelppeopleandmakeagoodliving. His children felt he was something of a workaholic, but he never felt that way. Unlike big firm lawyers,hesays,hewasalwayshomeontheweekends,thoughhedoesadmittooneguiltypleasure: livelyconversation. Ilovethesocialinterchangeofthebarscene,butIwasashort termer.iwould havetwobeersandgohome. Hedoes,however,recallatleastonelateeveninghespentattheold Joe Miller s in Dallas. I phoned my[former] wife and said, I m sitting here with a congressman, a federal judge,[dallas sports writer] Blackie Sherrod, a bookie and a hooker. There is no way I am gettingupfromthistable. ButWoottonalwaysmadetimetocookforhiskidsandtendtohisgarden whereverhelived, hesays,therewasalwaysagarden. I mtheonlyguyinhighlandparkwhogrowsokrainhisfront yard. His love affair with okra is evident from the poem he chose to read on Poetry Night: Song to Okra byroyblountjr.itcameasasoberingalternativetothedoctorwhoseodetourination It s prettygreattourinate loosenedwhateverinhibitionsinthecrowdthatthewinehadn t.wootton half apologizedforhisselection,sayinghepreviouslyhadbeenbooedforreadingitbutsuggesting thathispassionforthevegetablelefthimlittlechoice:

5 Stringbeansaregood,andripetomatoes, Andcollardgreensandsweetpotatoes, Sweetcorn,fieldpeas,andsquash andbeets Butwhenamanrearsbackandeats Hewantsokra. Goodoleokra Ohwowokra,yessiree, Okraisokaywithme... Itmaybepoorforeatingchipswith, Itmaybehardtocometogripswith, Butokra ssuchawholesomefood Itstraightensoutyourattitude... Thecrowdseemedmorehospitablethistime,cheeringtheirhostwhokepttheeveningmovingat a good clip: No poem lasted longer than three minutes, which was a good thing. A woman named Michellereadanoriginalpoem Blue,BlueberryBlues aboutnotappreciatingthingsuntilthey aregone,lesliespokeofunrequitedlove,abroadcastjournalistreadkeats,alawyerrecitedfrost, and still another attorney, who Wootton said had kicked his butt in court, read a fairly incomprehensiblepoem. It sbyaninsurancelawyer, thelawyertoldtheaudience. A10 year oldboyreadashort,sweethomagetohismother;adoctor swifereadashort,sweet homagetotexaspoetry;jimbrouner,apartnerindallas KesslerandCollins,readanoriginalwork moreofafashionstatementreally aboutthewomanwithwhomhehadjusttraveledtocroatia. ShetoowasatPoetryNightandhadinspiredhimtopenhispoem duringdinner.itwasentitled TheBlackWidow. Woottoncommentedafterward, Ithinkyougetextraspecialcreditifyouwriteyourpoemwhile eating. AttorneyMartin,movedbytherecentdeathofRosaParks,decidedtoreciteafterall.Dedicating hisreadingtohermemory,herecitedtheworkofanotherpoetentitled, TheColoredSection, which dealtwiththehistoryofracisminamerica. FollowinghimwasJulieEhret areluctantpoetwho,despitebeingalitigatorandaregularat thegardencafé,feltsoawkwardaboutperformingthatsheneverwould untiltonight.sheagreed to read her original poem, Poetry Night at Dale s, which dealt with her feelings about being a reluctantpoet. Icanargueincourtinpursuitofacase Orpresentalecturewithoutaredface Butanattemptatcomedy,drama orromance? WhatifIfallflat?CanItakeachance?...Aseachnightunfurls Ilooktomydearfriend,stageright Hesmileswithserenecontentment Atthehappinesshecreatedtonight....Forwhatstartedwithhisdaughters Andevenason Hasgrownintoanotherfamily Or,atleastitfeelslikeone. Closingouttheevening,Woottonagaintookthemike. Iknowsomeofyouwerehereatourlast PoetryNight,andthatwasaspecialdayinmylife mymotherdiedthatday, hesaid,pausing. And acoupleofweeksago,whenwesetthecalendarfortonight,mybrothercameintomyofficeandsaid, DoyourealizewhatdayOct.28is?It smother sbirthday shemustbetellingussomething. ItwasEhret spoem,woottonsaid,thatmadehimrealizejustwhatthatsomethingwas:thatthe PoetryNightcrowdwasalsofamily. Ithinkmother sspiritisheretonightandiwanttosay, Happy

6 birthday,mom. Hisfacewarmedintoagrin. We rejustgladtohaveallourfamilyheretonight thanksforcoming. Still Growing ThesunisshiningandWoottonstrollsaroundhisgarden,pickingapodofokraandrollingitin hisfingers. IfIwasasmartrealestateguy,Iwouldhavebuiltamini warehousebackhere that would have been the highest and best use of this property, he says. Of course, I didn t want the highestandbestuse Iwantedtohavefun. Instead,hepointstotheedamameheisgrowing thelongrowsofcucumbers,tomatoesand blackeyedpeas. Ineachofthe40boxesoverthereisadifferentherb, hesays,bitingontheraw okra. I vegotoregano,parsley,fennel,sage,mint,rosemary,basilforchickenandlavenderforhot tea. Itisdayssuchasthesewhenhecontemplateshisfutureandrealizes it stimetostartphasing outofmypractice. Thereasonshegivesaremany:He s63,he stired,he shadagoodrun,heneeds totendtohisrealestateholdings,whichprovidehimenoughincometodiginhisgardenandplayin hisrestaurant. But after 35 years, what truly is pushing him toward curtailing his practice is the Bankruptcy AbusePreventionandProtectionActof2005,whichbecameeffectiveonOct.17. Idon twanttofool withit, hesays. TherearesomethingsinitthatIthinkareabhorrent. He finds the requirement that the debtor s attorney has to verify the accuracy of a client s scheduleasunrealisticasitisoffensive.( WhatamIgoingtodo,diguptheirbackyardstofindthe goldcoinstheyarehiding? )Herailsagainstwhatheperceivesastheharshnessofaprovisionthat makes it more difficult for consumers to get a fresh start by forcing the debtor into Chapter 13 payoutratherthanchapter7discharge.( ForgivingdebtsisintheBible,butcreditcardcompanies, who got the legislation passed, first want their pound of flesh. ) And with consumer bankruptcies becoming more complex and more costly, he has a harder time justifying his fee. ( I have already given two bankruptcy judges my Nixon speech: You re just not going to have Dale to kick around anymore. ) Instead he wants to tend to his garden and his restaurant, where he can engage in lively conversationwithcustomers,friendsandfamily peoplesmarterthanhim,hesays. Whereelsein Dallascanyougotoalittlejointthathaspoetryreadingsandagardeninthebackandartonthe wallsandgood,simplefood?ijustneedtobearoundthatatthispointinmylife. This article is reprinted with permission from the November 17, 2003 issue of Texas Lawyer. 2005, Texas Lawyer. For subscription information, contact Texas Lawyer, 1412 Main St., Suite 1300, Dallas, TX ext.701

7 MARK DONALD Dale Wootton takes the mike during Poetry Night. TheGardenCaféismorethanjustacafé.It sthe AlgonquinRoundTableforthechicken friedsteakset wherethefriendsofwoottonaredrawntoshare theirstories,theirphilosophies,theirlives. He is one of those six-degrees-of-separation people, says Julie Ehret (above) of Dale Wootton. I m always running into someone who knows him. He s a very social guy. MarkDonald se mailaddressis mdonald@alm.com