Circuit Judge John Grimm announces resignation

After nine years of making life-changing decisions for those in his courtroom, Circuit Judge John W. Grimm announced Monday he will leave the bench Feb. 28 to return to private practice.

Grimm, 40, will return to the Cape Girardeau law firm of Limbaugh, Russell, Payne & Howard as a partner.

"I believe I've done a good job with this position in the last nine years, and I've worked very hard to serve the people of this area," he said. "But at the same time, I felt like this was the right time to make a career change."

He became circuit judge for the 32nd Judicial Circuit -- made up of Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties -- when then-Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed him in December 1993. Grimm was 31 when he replaced A.J. Seier, who resigned.

Grimm was elected in November 1994 to a six-year term and re-elected without opposition to a second term in November 2000.

His exit leaves an opening to be filled by Gov. Bob Holden. Grimm composed a letter to Holden Monday night, leaving the governor three months to examine potential replacements.

Grimm has been considering resigning for several months and didn't want to hesitate any longer, he said.

"About the time of my 40th birthday this summer, that caused me to seriously consider what I wanted to do with my career," he said. "The older you get, the harder it is to change things like that, and I thought it was better to do this now at age 40 than four years from now at the end of my term."

Grimm said as much as he is looking forward to the challenges of his new job, he will miss the satisfaction of changing lives for the better through his decisions.

'Incredible client base'

He announced his decision to courthouse employees on Monday. Word of his decision quickly reached Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, who said Grimm's experience will make him a fine lawyer in the private sector.

"If I needed an attorney, I can't think of a better lawyer to go to than one who has spent many years on the bench," he said. "I think he will be able to build an incredible client base."

As a result of Grimm's work locally with mediation programs, the Missouri Supreme Court appointed him in 1999 to the Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution Relations Cases, a committee studying ways to increase mediation throughout the state. Over the years, Grimm has lectured on the benefits of mediation at seminars for judges and lawyers.

While he draws an annual salary of $108,000 as judge, the possibility of making a lucrative salary as a private attorney was at least a part of his decision to leave the bench, he said.

"Some lawyers make less than what I'm making now, and some make more," he said. "It was not the major consideration in my decision. ... Of course, we all make job decisions based on making sure we will be able to provide for our families."

Grimm will concentrate on personal injury and commercial litigation.

Limbaugh, Russell, Payne & Howard, founded more than 75 years ago, has 12 attorneys.

"We are looking forward to having Judge Grimm back with us," Joe Russell, senior partner, said in a written statement. "He will bring significant litigation experience that will be a real asset to our clients."

Grimm said he's always sought guidance from more experienced people in his career.

"I've sought advice from people I respect, and I have prayed about difficult decisions I've had to make, including this one to leave my position," Grimm said. "I'm not so arrogant enough to think that every decision I've made over the last nine years was the right one, but in that time I've tried to make the best decisions I could based on the facts I know."

Holden is expected to appoint someone in March to serve out nearly two years of Grimm's term until the next general election in 2004. That election will decide who sits on the bench for the last two years of the six-year term. In 2006, there will be an election for a full six-year term.

mwells@semissourian.com

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