Brooks Harrington’s first order as a Marine in the ’70s was to take the law school entrance exam at Oklahoma University.

Harrington, now 77, grew up in a military family in the Arlington Heights neighborhood. He felt a sense of obligation to serve the nation during the Vietnam War. He wanted to be a Marine. He didn’t want to be a lawyer. 

Following the orders of his recruiter, he took the LSAT anyway — and scored over 700, he said. At the time the test worked off of a 200-800 scale. 

Harrington still didn’t want to be a lawyer. From 1970 to 1973 he served as an infantry officer for the U.S. Marine Corps and was a rifle platoon company commander. He worked as a legislative aid for Fort Worth Congressman Jim Wright the year after that and went to law school in Washington, D.C. Harrington dreaded law school and wanted to go back to the Marines. 

When he went to tell Wright his plans, the lawmaker suggested Harrington visit the federal courthouse and watch a jury trial — just to make sure he was making an informed decision. 

Watching a jury trial for the first time from beginning to end, Harrington felt at home. That moment later influenced him to become a lawyer and found the Methodist Justice Ministry, a pro bono family law firm and ministry based in Fort Worth that assists women and children in poverty to escape domestic violence, neglect and abuse. 

“I was fascinated by the whole process, and it turned me around,” Harrington said. “In politics, anybody can say anything, and they try to fool people about what the facts are. In court, you have to prove it.” 

Harrington earned a law degree from George Washington University and served as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., during the late 1970s and early ’80s. His cases involved murders, rapes and crimes against children and others. 

Harrington, who grew up going to First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth, later became an ordained minister and served as a senior pastor for Diamond Hill United Methodist Church in the early ’90s and served as an associate pastor for his childhood church in 2006. 

That same year he felt called to start a nonprofit called the Methodist Justice Ministry. For the longest time Harrington said, running the ministry was a “mom and pop” operation — minus the “mom” part. 

Harrington’s work in founding the Methodist Justice Ministry earned him recognition in 52 Faces of Community, Fort Worth Report’s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes.

“Outside of combat in the Marine Corps, this is the hardest and the most satisfying thing I’ve done,” Harrington said. 

Currently, 1 in 3 women in Tarrant County will be affected by intimate partner violence at some point in her lifetime, according to the district attorney’s office. The Methodist Justice Ministry has filed over 1,200 family lawsuits and represented more than 3,000 vulnerable community members impacted by family violence.

The ministry also helps clients and their families receive professional counseling, move into apartments away from their abuser and connect them with additional resources. 

In the early days of his practice, Harrington did it all. He created documents, he fielded phone calls from clients and prospective clients, he screened them, he went to court. He served as the nonprofit’s secretary, receptionist, copyist and the lawyer. 

Over time, former clients wanted to give back to the ministry that helped them. Today, four former clients work for the Methodist Justice Ministry. 

“It’s a tremendous help for people who are so vulnerable and afraid and lack confidence to talk to somebody who’s been through it,” Harrington said. 

Harrington’s desire to combine his faith and legal expertise, to create long-lasting change in his community is why Yajaera Chatterson, a former client of the ministry who is now the organization’s development director nominated him for the 52 Faces recognition. 

Harrington spent the first 30 years of his legal career in the courtroom, trying to be a great lawyer, he said. When he started the ministry, he “resolved to be a great human being with a law license,” he added. 

Don’t get him confused. Harrington doesn’t think he’s already a great human being. But he says he’s trying. Lawyers can do so much good, he added. 

“The more I got into it, helping these women and children, the less it was about me, and the more it was about them,” Harrington said. “I received so much more from it than they did for me.” 

Harrington has always had a passion for jury trials — from the drama to the psychology of picking a jury to the fight over what narrative is true. 

But he’s never had the kind of moments in court that he has had repeatedly through the Methodist Justice Ministry, he said. 

When a mother finds the courage to break out of an abusive relationship and seek help through the ministry, she is faced with uncertainty and a number of questions, Harrington said. 

Where am I going to live? How am I going to provide for my children? How am I going to feed them? 

Then, there’s the looming worry of whether to go back to the abuser just to survive and receive basic necessities, Harrington said. They can feel alone, he adds. 

There’s a moment where that changes, he said. Harrington walks into court with the mother for the first time, they stand before the judge and he enters his appearance, or formally notifying the court that he represents her in the case. 

Then he sees it. The moment. 

“She looks at you and she realizes I’m not alone,” Harrington said. “I’ve probably had hundreds of those moments, and you can’t put a price on them, and I wish more lawyers knew that.” 

Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.

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Great Job Marissa Greene & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.