Harley rider focuses on motorcycle law in office at converted service station
A former traffic-court prosecutor, Kirk Fisher had envisioned an environmental law focus when he transitioned into private practice. He was even attending a post-law-degree graduate program in the subject at Vermont Law School.
The recession and a chance encounter with a group of lawyers from an Arizona firm at a Las Vegas seminar changed his mind.
The Greenville, South Carolina, practitioner saw his environmental practice dwindle as construction work dropped off during the recession. So he turned to personal injury work to pay the bills. Attending a brain injury seminar in 2009 as he worked on a case, he chatted with the group of Arizona lawyers. They told him there was a need for attorneys to focus on motorcycle matters, reports the Greenville News.
“It took me about 13 seconds to go, ‘Man, I could do this. This is right up my alley,’ ” Fisher told the newspaper.
Initially, he got into the field by signing a three-year contract with the Nevada firm that introduced him to the concept. Now Fisher rides his Harley to work at his own firm, Iron Horse Motorcycle Lawyers. It is housed in a converted automobile service station.
There are some 2,400 motorcycle accidents annually in his state, most of which are the other driver’s fault, Fisher says. Having a lawyer who specializes in motorcycles is helpful, because operating a bike is different than operating a car. He credits his success in part to a full-time marketing director who visits motorcycle dealers and rallies throughout the Southeast.
An 800 number for his law firm is connected to his cellphone. He has gotten calls from as far away as Nicaragua, the article notes.
“People call me early in the morning, late at night,” Fisher said. “I’ve had people call me, and I can hear the fire trucks coming in the background while they’re lying on the side of the road.”
Business is good and he is looking at opening new offices in other locations. And, in an effort to give back to his community, he also works full-time as a firefighter at Duncan Chapel Fire Department.
“Some people are on the boards of charities,” he said. “This is the way I do it.”
