“Do you like what you do?” Attorney Bradley Weeks has had nearly 40 years to think about his reply. But he still waits for several seconds before responding. When his answer comes, it somehow avoids the question and is commendably straightforward. “I have opportunities to help people, but I also have to do things I don’t necessarily enjoy,” he says.
Weeks represents landlords and property managers in Chattanooga. Included among the legal tasks he handles on their behalf are evictions and collections. It’s not the kind of work many layers would describe as pleasant, but Weeks injects an element of humanity into the process by hearing defendants out and treating them with respect. “To be able to sleep at night, I have to acknowledge the people who are in front of me. I can’t think their position is not worth hearing and blow them off. They’re entitled to a reasonable amount of my time,” Weeks says, choosing his words carefully but also being honest about one of the tougher jobs a lawyer might be asked to do.
Weeks inherited his practice from Joe Wagner, the senior partner at Wagner, Nelson & Weeks, the firm at which he works. His late father and Wagner founded the firm, located in the First Tennessee Bank building, in 1950. Weeks came to work for the firm in the early ‘70s. “I didn’t graduate at the top of my class in law school, but I did OK. I was in the top ... 20 percent, so I thought I’d be able to get a job, no problem. Well, it was a problem. So I went to my father’s old firm, and they offered me an office, access to a secretary, one hundred dollars a week and 50 percent of what I brought in,” Weeks says.
When asked if he’s still working under those terms, Weeks laughs and says, “It seems like it sometimes.”
Weeks tackled anything that walked through the door. He says pickings were slim at first, but he liked being able to set his own schedule. Wagner had developed an active unlawful detainer practice, which he eventually turned over to Weeks. Weeks took the ball and ran with it, developing his clientele to the point where he now almost exclusively does legal work for property management companies and large apartment complexes. His practice has not only taken over his work schedule, it’s also claimed his desk and several square feet of surrounding office space. Weeks pulls several folded documents out from under a stack of papers and holds them up.
“I have 49 evictions on Monday. If they all show up in court, it’s going to take me a while to try them,” he says. Weeks will be open to searching for mutually acceptable resolutions. He developed an appreciation for mediation while serving as a municipal judge on Lookout Mountain for 10 years. “The most important thing was to get everything on the table and find the middle ground both parties could live with,” he says.
Monday will set the pace for the workdays that follow, and by Friday, Weeks will be ready to put his job aside and relax. Part of what helps him to maintain balance is his volunteer work for the Episcopal Church. Weeks is an ordained deacon assigned to Grace Episcopal Church in Brainerd. His duties include pastoral visits, serving communion, and occasionally preaching.
“My job is to bring the outside world into the church and to give the church an opportunity to see the outside world. It’s rewarding. It’s what I need at the end of the week,” he says. Weeks has other ways of unwinding, including fishing. A 22-inch mounted brown trout on the wall behind his desk suggests his skills as an angler are considerable.
“I like to fish. It was a big part of my life for a big part of my life. Now, I fish when I can. I can be in the water in 15 minutes. I have a little boat and a 25 horsepower motor, and I just fish until I get tired,” he says.
Weeks also enjoys spending time with his wife and two rescue dogs, and keeping in touch with his two daughters. One is a civil engineer living and working in Portland, Ore.; the other works for the regional planning commission in Chattanooga. Although Weeks values his down time, he gladly employs his experience on behalf of two local nonprofits. At Metropolitan Ministries, he provides free legal advice to clients; at AIM Center, he works with the housing staff.
To recognize his dedication to his profession and his community, the Chattanooga Bar Foundation in 2011 elected Weeks as one of its new Fellows. He was proudest to share the honor with his colleagues at Wagner, Nelson & Weeks. “I enjoy the people I work with. Most of the office staff has been here for over 20 years. My two partners, Richard and Mike Wagner, are active in the practice, as is David Nelson, who’s been with the firm since my father was here. Through the years, we’ve learned to understand and trust each other,” he says.
Although Weeks has been a lawyer since the ‘70s, it’s actually his second career. Upon earning a bachelor’s degree from Sewanee, he took a job teaching English to 8th and 9th graders at a small private school in Atlanta, Ga. He also coached the school’s wrestling and football teams. When asked if he enjoyed the work, he answers immediately.
“I loved it, but I didn’t make any money. Also, I got to know a lot of the older teachers that worked there, and it was discouraging to see how little money they made. I wanted more out of life,” he says. In a bid for more, Weeks applied at the Benwood Found-ation for a scholarship to attend law school. He got the money, and today can look back on nearly four decades of work as an attorney.
Weeks does have more than a career at a small private school would have afforded him. He lives on Lookout Mountain, less than one mile from where he grew up. He has two daughters who are making good use of their higher education. And he has an active practice and the respect of his peers. But he does not have the ability to answer one important question. “Do I like what I do?” he asks, repeating the question he dodged earlier. He pauses for several seconds. “I don’t know. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done.”