YARMOUTH — I am no fan of attending funeral services. For me, they embrace sadness and loss – usually. Last Friday was an exception. It was truly a celebration of Peter DeTroy, a towering presence in the legal profession, which is mourning his sudden and unexpected loss.

I am lucky to count myself as one of Peter’s myriad friends and admiring clients. The event was held in Merrill Auditorium, and I counted fewer than 200 empty seats of the 1,900 available.

I have spent a good chunk of my 83 years working with lawyers, especially trial lawyers, in every state but Montana as well as in several countries abroad. I think I have met many of the crême de la crême of courtroom “top guns,” and generally have learned something from each experience. But like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart grappling with an attempt to define obscenity (“I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it …”), I have no paradigm from which to create a verbal description of the “ultimate advocate.” It turns out that top-shelf trial lawyers come in many different flavors, with widely varying techniques, methods and courtroom tactics. The best I could do was to ask myself two questions:

Is this lawyer really prepared to try this case?

If so, can he or she wring maximum benefit from the facts in the evidence bag?

Until, that is, I met and retained Peter DeTroy. As we became closely acquainted, it was evident that when personal goodies were handed out to cradle occupants, he somehow managed to be at or near the front of the several lines that each of us goes through at the beginning of life. In a word, I think he had it all.

He was a man of formidable intelligence, which he upgraded at every opportunity in any way that presented itself. Because of his very high intelligence quotient, he had a prodigious memory.

He was a well-educated and very, very articulate man. His command of the English language was astonishing.

When in the courtroom, he moved with a fluidity that showed he was on “home turf,” ever courteous, soft-spoken but with words so well enunciated that witnesses, jurors and judges rarely missed his point.

Peter was a man of elegance and grace. His smile was warming. He was the very essence of a nice guy, even a wonderful guy. Unlike some of his colleagues, Peter could have tried cases in any jurisdiction before any judge, and emerge when the verdicts were in as a platinum professional who evoked respect from all.

If you are a trial lawyer, and have some triumphs, lumps and scars to show for your years in the well of the court, as well as the occasional attack, you cannot uncover a developing serious accusation against you without contemplating who might be a good choice to lead your defense when the battle is fomenting.

I have been attacked more than most lawyers, and have had the benefit of the services of some truly crackerjack courtroom magicians, as well as some who wilted when the heat got turned up. When Peter stood up for me as my lawyer, I felt totally comfortable that he would make no mistakes, and he did not. If I were to be charged with a serious crime tomorrow, I would again hire Peter DeTroy, if only he had not departed long before he should have been called to the Beyond.

But Peter has left a bountiful legacy. His modestly sized law firm has an active cadre of top-notch lawyers to fill his shoes, and he is in no small measure a cause of their excellence.

I have lost a most valued colleague and friend.

The state of Maine has lost a crown jewel, a titan of the legal profession whose name will echo in courtroom corridors for ages.

And the United States has lost one of the finest lawyers it ever spawned or developed, a consummate example of “the best.”

Safe passage, Peter. You are and will be much missed.

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