Former Mississippi Governor Bill Waller, Sr. died on Wednesday at the age of 85. Gov. Waller served as governor from 1972 to 1976. There was a 1–term limit at the time.

In the 1960’s Gov. Waller served as Hinds County District Attorney and twice tried Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers. Both trials ended in mistrials. It was impossible to convict a white man for murdering a back man in Mississippi at that time, but credit Waller for trying.

I knew Gov. Waller not as a politician (I was 5 when he was elected and 20 when he last ran for office in 1987), but as a fellow lawyer. I had the pleasure of working with Gov. Waller over the last few years in a case where he represented the plaintiffs and I represented one of the defendants. We developed a good working relationship in the case and I always enjoyed talking to him. The best word that I can use to describe Gov. Waller as a lawyer is that he was a character.

As a lawyer, Gov. Waller was a character in a way that no one in my generation is or can be. There was simply no telling what he would say or do in the case. Once while his client was being deposed by a very young co-defense lawyer, Gov. Waller kept entering and leaving the conference room while the deposition proceeded in his absence.

At one point the lawyer taking the deposition started asking questions that Gov. Waller took issue with. Now keep in mind that Gov. Waller had not opened his mouth once in the deposition and had been in and out of the room. So did he “object to the form”? Not hardly. He loudly asked “what in the hell does that have to do with anything?” The stunned lawyer tried to explain, at which point Gov. Waller made his point even more forcefully. It was classic.

At another point in the case I was trying to broker a settlement. Things broke down when Gov. Waller increased his demand. By a lot. Frustration abounded on the defense side, since we were willing to pay the earlier demand. But Gov. Waller didn’t care. He insisted on the higher amount. And guess what? He got it. Every penny of it. I greatly admired the tenacity even while it was making my job hell in trying to get the case settled.

Gov. Waller’s personality was a gift. The more I dealt with him, the more I understood why he was a successful politician. He had one of those endearing personalities that no matter what he did, it made you like him even more. That is a super-rare trait. He was a true character who was one of my all-time favorites in opposing counsel.