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and a wonderful friend.
Throughout his life, Josef Diamond made close friends of many if not most of the people with whom he came in contact ... including many hundreds of employees and clients ... and even including his competitors in business, his opponents across the negotiating table, and his adversaries in the courtroom. Many times, people who lost their case to Josef in court, recognized something very special in this man and subsequently chose him to be their own attorney. He always made it a point to make most of his clients his friends, as well. Among Josef's friends were three loyal secretaries who served him long and faithfully during his 60-plus years of law practice and who, in the process, joined the ranks of his devoted friends. In 1990, the third of this elite group, Judy Ann Moulton, decided to invite Josef's friends to help her compile a "Book of Memories" as a special present for his 83rd birthday. That collection of gems comprises a major part of this book about his life. You will not have to read very far before the recollections and observations of Josef's closest friends will have you laughing with tears of joy in admiration of this man who has lived a full life as an honorable counselor, a gentle man, and a true friend to legions of friends. Those who have not known Josef Diamond personally, but only know him from what they may have heard or read about him in newspapers might perceive him as a very successful lawyer who owns of a lot of real estate and several large businesses and is an influential and powerful man. But those who have been privileged to know him "up close and personal" know him as a kind and considerate man who is, above all else, a thoughtful and caring friend. Just listen to a few personal testimonies and you will soon find yourself thoroughly endeared to this man: His long-time close friend and partner in the Coeur d'Alene Plaza Building in Spokane, Harry Kessler says: "Josef can't seem to walk 10-feet without running into a friend or acquaintance." Harry calls his pal: "A teddy bear" and says: "He knows more people and has more friends than anybody else in this world." Josef's record as a lawyer suggests that he is more of a tiger than a teddy bear. But Josef says: "Everybody thinks I am just in it for the money, but I am not. I do have a tough skin ... but I also have to live with myself." Speaking of bears, retired Spokane attorney John Crowley who handled legal work for Diamond in Spokane for many years describes Josef as: "Smarter than the average bear ..." and then he pauses a moment and says: "Actually, Josef is smarter than all the other bears." In 1980, during one of the periodic flare-ups of hostilities in the Mid-East, newspaper commentator Dave Lempesis offered this suggestion: "Joe Diamond could solve the Iranian crisis in a week. Turn over the embassy to Joe and he'd have the place cleared, paved, and marked [for parking] before we lost a single helicopter." One Diamond executive, Marilyn Harlan, says this: "Josef convinced the previously all-male Harbor Club to "go co-ed" because he enjoyed having business-lunch meetings there and, as he told the Club, he had a woman executive in one of his organizations ... and he felt sure that other companies would soon begin to make the same request. I guess I was never fully appreciative of the significance of this ... (and I still do not have any objection to the boys having their own retreats). But this was a milestone. "What I remember most, though, is Josef's ability to inspire people to perform at their best and to realize their own potential. I learned so much from him that I referred to him as "Josef Diamond University," a title someone else had previously bestowed upon him and which I quickly adopted. "If anybody is listening, there is much to be learned from this distinguished elder statesman ..." In later chapters, you can listen to the endearing testimonies of his wife, his son, his grandchildren, his brothers and sisters and other close family members. And listen to the testimonies of his business partners and employees and clients and competitors and fellow attorneys and former comrades in arms during his illustrious career as Colonel Josef Diamond, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. And listen to the appreciative and admiring words of a waitress and various craftsmen and suppliers whose services he employed ... so many of whom he helped in many different ways. But to set the stage for what is in store, listen now to this excellent overview from the former president of Northwest Bank which opened in Seattle in 1961 and for which Josef was a founder and director, Somers White: "Josef Diamond is an uncompromisingly honest businessman, capable bank director, and effective lawyer. But more than that, he is warm, gentle, and gracious." Somers remembers that before he met Josef, he had heard that Josef was "tough" and Somers did, indeed, find him to be tough ... but also gentle. When he met Josef for the first time and mentioned that he needed some office space to begin work, Josef said: "We have an empty office in our law firm and you can use that office ... at no charge." For the next six months, Somers says that he spent a great deal of time with Josef and he shares some interesting insights: On giving people opportunities: Because of the DeFunis "reverse-discrimination" case which earned national acclaim for Josef, some wrongly concluded that he was prejudiced against minorities. But the true facts prove quite the opposite. Somers explains: "I know for a fact that Josef owned a piece of property in an excellent location in downtown Seattle which he leased to two young black men who wanted to start a business ... and he leased it to them for one-fourth the amount of another offer he had." When he was asked about this, Josef said, simply: "I want them to have a chance to succeed." On doing what is right: Josef Diamond has always been a man of integrity. He has one simple rule by which to determine the right course of action: "I do not want to do anything that I could not tell the whole world about." On generosity: Somers recalls talking to an attorney who represented another bank who told him: "When I went around to take a collection for the barber in our building who had a stroke, Josef was the biggest single contributor." On loyalty: Once, the bank (which Josef helped to start) had a disagreement with a small business owner. Josef told the Board of Directors of his bank: "I am sorry, but you will have to get another attorney to defend your position in this case, because this woman is my client and my relationship with her goes back farther than my relationship with this bank. She needs me more than you do." Somers adds: "I know of numerous instances in which Josef put other people's interests above his own." On maintaining friendship through disagreements: Somers declares: "Among all the Directors of the Bank, I had more disagreements with Josef than with any of the other Directors ... but I never left a meeting with him without feeling that he and I were on the same team, and without having increased admiration for him." On maintaining an even-keel: Somers says: "I never heard Josef raise his voice, get angry, say a bad thing about anyone, or use one word of profanity." To summarize, Somers White says: "Of all the business people I have ever met, Josef is the most intelligent, the most capable, the most generous, the most modest, and has the most integrity. Josef earned his money, not by taking from others, but by giving to them."
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