Blog

RJ Abernathy – An Introduction

Posted on November 29th, 2009 by RJ Abernathy

As this is my first blog post, I thought I would use it to explain a little more about myself and how I came to be an asbestos lawyer. I began working as a laborer with Laborers’ Local 100 in East Saint Louis, Illinois while I was still in high school. For the next twenty plus years, I worked on highways and bridges, commercial buildings and industrial facilities in and around St. Clair and Madison counties. My family has always been a big part of Local 100, my dad and two of his brothers all worked for many years out of Local 100. Even today, I have seven cousins who are members of and work each day out of the Local.

I have also always been someone who enjoys giving my time to others. While a member of Local 100, I served as a delegate to the Southwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council for nine years. With this group, the delegates from the various trades worked to help increase the percentage of jobs that union contractors were awarded. We also strove to maintain and encourage better cooperation on the jobsites between and among the various trades.

My wife and I, along with several other dedicated souls, ran the Fairview Heights Khoury League from 2001-2004. As President of the youth sports league, I worked hard to increase the number of kids playing baseball, softball and T-Ball. I enjoyed my time spent as the president of the league, and continue to coach my son’s team even now.

I also believe that the community in which you live can only be improved through direct involvement of its residents. I jumped at the chance to join the Fairview Heights Zoning Board of Appeals. On this volunteer board, we hear from other residents and business owners who seek variances from the development code. In this position, I have a chance to help ensure the stability of our property values by ensuring that the ordinances are followed or helping a resident or business owner secure a variance when it is warranted.

Lastly, I would just like to let everyone know that the best part of my job is getting out of the office and meeting with our clients and prospective clients, discussing their problems with them and offering them potential solutions. The people I speak with and work for are all hardworking men and women who are often going through the worst time of their lives. It is an awesome and humbling responsibility when they place their trust in me as their lawyer.

To learn more or contact this author, RJ Abernathy, click here.