Purpose, Impact, & The Stories That Define Us

James Dirmann

Alumnus

Class of 1970

One of my fondest memories of my years at Mercer Law School was arriving for an early morning class. I would almost always meet Dean James Quarles as he was walking to his first class or to his office. Dean Quarles was a prince of a man who cared deeply about all of his law students. We would talk about the student riots at Cal Berkeley where my brother was a student. Or we would talk about the Vietnam war, from which I had just returned from my service in the Marine Corps. My favorite thing about these discussions was that I knew he looked forward to our meetings, and we held these informal meetings until he left for the University of Florida Law school. I will always remember his very first remarks on our first day as law students : “I want you all to have a good, HARD time here at Mercer Law School.” Dean Quarles was one of the finest men I have ever been fortunate enough to know and his class in criminal law influenced my career as a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer and member of the Florida Bar for 53 years!