Harris’ legal career leans on desire to help community

Law Talk profile for The Memphis Daily News

Oct. 25, 2012

It seems like with so many people, Lee Harris’ eventual career interest was sparked by television.

“All I knew was what I saw on TV, and lawyers seemed very, very powerful and able to get things done,” he said.

Of course there was more to it than an infatuation with prime time drama, but Harris has known since middle school that he wanted to be a lawyer and the reality of the profession, he said, has lived up to his expectations.

The Whitehaven native and graduate of Overton High School traveled far from home for his degrees – B.A. in international studies with a minor in economics from Morehouse College, and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School in 2003 – and then returned home.

“There was no question for me,” he says of his choosing to live and work in his hometown. “Never at any time did even a specter of doubt enter my mind, I always knew that I’d return to Memphis. … I knew this is where I wanted to be to practice law, to raise a family and to try to make a change.” … (read more)