A Conversation with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Co-Founder Jim Hurley
By Butch Maier
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers co-founder Jim Hurley’s career began in 1991 with Tidewater Legal Aid—now the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEV). Thirty-five years after his first day at LASEV, Hurley launched an initiative: $160,000 for 60 Years of Equal Justice, a nine-month fundraising drive to ensure LASEV can continue its mission.
CoVaBIZ: What was your Legal Aid role when you started, and what types of cases did you
take on?
Jim Hurley: “I was a staff attorney back then. And the three main types of cases I took—they were all civil cases—were mainly consumer-related. The areas were family law, so helping out people get divorced and/or other family issues that didn’t have any money to pay for a lawyer. And then I also did a fair amount of landlord/tenant, trying to help people against the mean, bad landlords that were trying to do mean, bad things to them. And then I was also doing a fair amount of Social Security disability, which entitled people to get various money from Social Security who are disabled for various reasons.”
CoVaBIZ: What are the most important ways, would you say, the Legal Aid Society has benefited individuals in Eastern Virginia?
Hurley: “I’d say, without a doubt, the main one is unfortunately in today’s day and age, oftentimes lawyers are relatively expensive. And depending on what your legal needs are, it’s very difficult to ferret out without a legal background and/or a lawyer. So, I think the most important thing that Legal Aid has done is to help people—obviously, on the civil side, not the criminal side—go through the legal maze and get really great results in the various areas I just touched on. So, I actually would say that’s the crucial thing. And then, I would say the second thing that Legal Aid has done that’s really important is from an informational standpoint, a branding standpoint: We want to let you know that we’re out here helping people. A lot of lawyers don’t even realize there’s a Legal Aid in the area and that they constantly are trying to tell people that they can help them. A lot of people out there that need help don’t realize Legal Aid’s in the area….We help thousands of people each and every year. We can help you. So, you know, that’s crucially important because if you don’t know something’s there, you’re not gonna be able to utilize it.”
CoVaBIZ: How long were you with Legal Aid? And talk to me about your transition from public service law to high-stakes personal injury. When and how did Cooper Hurley form?
Hurley: “So, I was with Legal Aid approximately two years, and I started my personal injury career on Dec. 1, 1993. And I started out at Rutter Mills. That’s one of the larger personal injury law firms that we currently have in our area—as well as our firm, currently. I worked with them for probably about 10 years, and then I branched off, and through various transitions, started Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers in December of 2011. It started out as just John Cooper and myself, along with three or four support staff—relatively small about 15 years ago. I always wanted to try to build a business, and the business I was in was helping people when they got insured in car wrecks and premises liability—any type of significant injury….Through the years, we’ve grown slowly, and we’re still growing, and now we’re approximately 55 employees with 12 attorneys, and I can confidently say we’re one of the more well-known and well-respected personal injury firms in Hampton Roads. So, it’s been an interesting journey in many ways.”
CoVaBIZ: How would you say you have changed as a lawyer over the years, and in what ways have you stayed the same?
Hurley: “I think I’ll start with the way I stayed the same, and I’ve always believed this: Legal Aid really gave me a foundation of helping the underdog, helping people that really needed help. And we were typically helping them against people that had more money, more power….In personal injury, we always joke you have the dark side, which is the defendants’ insurance companies and the bad insurance companies, and then you have the bright side, which is the plaintiffs’ personal injury side. At the end of the day, I’m still helping people, and the vast majority are underdogs that really need the legal help to get them a proper result. I’m just kind of doing it in a different way, trying to get them a monetary result as opposed to a different result when I was at Legal Aid. I think that’s the consistent thing that’s stayed with me. Through the years, the biggest change is I started out as a litigation lawyer, and I’ve been involved in thousands of depositions. I’ve been involved in various trials—hundreds of trials. And really, within the last five years or so, I’ve become a managing partner of Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, so I’ve focused more on the business development side, the entrepreneurial side, and I no longer do litigation.”
CoVaBIZ: Now you have come full circle, launching an initiative of $160,000 for 60 Years of Equal Justice.
Hurley: “I’m a big believer in you’ve always gotta remember where you came from and the people who helped you along the road. Legal Aid gave me my first job as a lawyer. I went through a difficult time back in the early 1990s landing a lawyer job. So, I’ve always remembered that. I’ve always appreciated it. Ray Hartz, the current executive director of Legal Aid, ironically enough, started out at Legal Aid while I was there. He came about a year or so after I was there, so part of my job responsibilities was helping teaching and training Ray Hartz 30, 35 years ago….I’ve always wanted to do something special. I’ve always supported Legal Aid. When I realized it was the 60th-year anniversary, that’s when I decided, ‘Well, let’s try to do something big and raise $160,000.’ That’s a significant enough amount of money where Legal Aid could actually make a difference with that. The firm was kind enough—I have four other partners—to donate $30,000 to get it started. And then my wife, who puts up with me, was kind enough to donate $30,000. So, we had $60,000 to start, which is always nice when you’re doing a fundraising campaign.”
CoVaBIZ: So, that leaves $100,000 to raise. Did you set a deadline?
Hurley: “Yeah, our deadline is 12/31/2026. We’re having various events through the year to try to bring awareness.”
CoVaBIZ: How can private firms effectively bolster underfunded Legal Aid societies?
Hurley: “One of the key things we’re trying to do with this 160-for-60 campaign is precisely that. The majority of firms have a dedicated committee or a person that kind of focuses on pro bono. And pro bono’s kind of the lawyer word for providing services to people without a charge, and generally it’s affiliated with the Legal Aid, but not always. And sometimes they will support Legal Aid financially as well. And then the Virginia State Bar supports Legal Aid financially, and they’re always trying to promote Legal Aid and educating people. So, one of the things I’m gonna do is that I’m gonna personally write a letter to the largest law firms in the Hampton Roads area and try to find the right person who is the managing partner or the partner or the person in charge of pro bono—for giving back to the community—and asking him or her specifically. And tell them, ‘Hey, Legal Aid does a great job. You’re probably familiar with it. Could you help us out and give a monetary contribution this year [for the $160,000 for 60 Years]?’ Part of that is educating the legal community that Legal Aid is there if they need help. You can help them either by giving money or connecting with them through giving pro bono services.”
For more information, go to laseva.org/60th-anniversary.
