Attorney, Bailey Javins & Carter, L.C.
Photo by Steve Payne.
By Dawn Nolan
Coming from three generations of coal miners and growing up in the small town of Man, WV, Tim Bailey was encouraged to pursue a career in medicine or law.
“It was supposedly the ticket out,” he says.
While he did leave his hometown to further his education, Bailey, an attorney and managing member at Bailey Javins & Carter, L.C., remained in the state and found purpose serving the hard-working individuals and their families he admired as a boy.
“Once I made up my mind to be a lawyer, I knew I wanted to practice in West Virginia. I thought my best opportunities would be here, and I am happy to say that my thoughts were right,” Bailey says. “The best thing about working here is that I have made a career representing the people I grew up with.”
Despite his interest in law, Bailey initially went to West Virginia University (WVU) to study biology due to concerns about the legal field being oversaturated. However, he recalls a meeting with Ellie Flowers, former placement director for WVU College of Law, that changed his trajectory.
“She told me she was placing 98% of her law students right out of school and that trend was not going to change any time soon,” Bailey says. “On the issue of there being too many lawyers, she told me something I’ll never forget. She looked me right in the eyes and told me there were too many lawyers. But, she said, there aren’t enough good ones.”
Bailey went on to earn his degree from WVU in 1988 and WVU College of Law in 1991. Upon graduation, he was hired at Bowles Rice LLP. While he cited it as a great opportunity, Bailey realized he wanted to be a litigator, and being able to try cases and argue in court in a larger firm would take more time.
“I also learned that I was more comfortable considering a case from the plaintiff’s perspective,” he says.
After leaving Bowles Rice, Bailey joined Robinson & Rice, a Huntington firm with a large caseload of workers’ compensation and social security work. Throughout his four years there, Bailey was given freedom to run cases. After some learning curves, he became quite successful and started his own practice in 1995. Not long after, he was approached by Guy Bucci and now-federal judge, Chuck Chambers, to join their practice, Bucci & Chambers. Bailey describes the merger as a natural fit. The practice would later become Bucci Bailey & Javins, L.C., and later, Bailey Javins & Carter, L.C.
Like any small business, running a plaintiff’s firm has its challenges, and though being a litigator can be stressful, Bailey believes that it is a worthwhile profession.
“Taking care of a family that has lost all of its earning potential and having them hug you and thank you for believing in them is the best,” Bailey says. “Likewise, having the people you work with every day stay with you for decades because they feel they are treated well and respected is just as rewarding.”
Over the course of his career, Bailey has litigated a number of high-profile cases. He has represented those who lost loved ones in the Upper Big Branch, Sago and Aracoma mine disasters and the Ghent Little General Store explosion as well as the West Virginians affected by the Freedom Industries water spill. Bailey credits his clients as being his motivation to continue doing what he does.
“You sit down with them, and they tell you how worried and scared they are. You watch them break down and cry when they tell you how they suffered and how they have lost the life they had. They depend on me and the other lawyers in the firm. You remember that and it inspires you to do right by them,” Bailey says.
In addition to serving a number of professional associations, Bailey and his partners are community-oriented, giving back to local schools, churches, youth sports teams, the arts and other nonprofit organizations.
“You have to give back,” Bailey says. “I don’t necessarily gravitate to people who look at their success as simply the way to accumulate stuff.”
Bailey splits his time between Charleston and Atlanta, where the firm opened an office a few years ago.
“I kind of get the best of both worlds. I love the intimacy of Charleston and the new vibe in the city you can feel there now. My closest friends and family are there. Everywhere you look there is someone you know and want to talk to. We love it,” Bailey says. “With Atlanta, you certainly get all the major metropolitan benefits—and, of course, hassles. I think the thing I like best about Atlanta is its diversity.”
Before being a litigator, Bailey is a husband and father first. He has been married to his wife, Erika, since 1993.
“Without her, the rest of all this wasn’t going to happen,” Bailey says. “She’s set an example for me that I try to live up to every day.”
The couple has two children, Peri, a WVU College of Law graduate, and Liam, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Being able to maintain a work-life balance is the most important lesson that Bailey has learned over the years, and it was his daughter’s battle with childhood cancer while his wife was pregnant with Liam that changed his perspective. He had to take care of his family while still taking care of his clients.
“It really made me rethink my priorities,” Bailey says. “The career all of a sudden fell into the spot it needed to be in my life. It became a part of my life but not what defined my life.”
For Bailey, prioritizing family first helps keep work going smoothly.
“It’s not about chasing money,” he says. “You have to be passionate about your clients and your family in equal measures. If you truly believe in what you are doing, the money takes care of itself. And, if you are happy at home, you’ll be better at everything. All the money and accolades mean little if you are churning inside all the time.”
Now in his mid-50s, Bailey has been preparing to start a new chapter of his life and career: semi-retirement.
“My goal for many years was to retire at an age young enough to enjoy myself while I had the health and fitness to do so,” he says.
Bailey plans to sell his interest in the firm over the next few years and start accepting opportunities to mediate cases under his business, Bailey Mediation.
“I hope it’s something that I can add to my success as an attorney,” he says.
