Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy (lawyer)

Flournoy became a member of the Kanawha County bar in 1911 and commenced the practice of law in Charleston.[10] Flournoy was a partner in the Charleston law firm of Flournoy and Porter, where he practiced law for over 50 years.[2][11]

At various times during his law career, Flournoy was appointed special master, arbitrator, or commissioner for several high-profile court cases. In 1932, Flournoy was appointed special master in a suit involving the estate of Mercy J. Keller, the widow of Benjamin Franklin Keller, a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.[12] Flournoy authored a report allowing for the distribution of funds to Keller's heirs and beneficiaries from Charleston National Bank.[12] In December 1932, Flournoy provided mediation for several business and home owners who sued the city of Charleston over the widening of Virginia Street between Summers and Capitol Streets.[13] He was unable to attend one of the lawsuit mediation conferences due to an ankle injury.[13] In addition to his role as a special master and mediator, Flournoy was also selected to serve as a special commissioner in several Charleston lawsuits.[14]

Flournoy continued to expand his law practice by winning large contracts. In March 1933, he offered the lowest bid of $3,745 for a contract that supplied certificates of land title in Kanawha and Fayette counties within the Huntington federal engineering district.[15] The lands within the federal engineering district were to be utilized by the Federal government for river work.[15]

In 1935, Flournoy was a West Virginia Democratic Party candidate for an at-large seat on the Charleston City Council.[16][17][18] Flournoy actively campaigned for the at-large seat, and spoke to several local organizations, including the First Ward Negro Democratic Club and Beck's Mission on Charleston's West Side.[17][18] Flournoy was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid for election to the at-large city council seat.

During a controversial re-indexing of Kanawha County records by Works Progress Administration officials in 1935 and 1936, Flournoy served as chairman of the Charleston Bar Association's Re-Indexing Committee, which completed an independent investigation of the re-indexing progress, as ordered by the bar association's executive committee.[19][20] Under Flournoy's leadership, the committee completed its review in January 1936.[19][20]

In 1937, Flournoy was appointed by West Virginia Governor Homer A. Holt as an at-large member of Charleston's Civil Service Board, which had been empowered by an act of the West Virginia Legislature to regulate the appointment of police and fire personnel in Charleston.[10][21] While serving on the board, Flournoy was its president and spokesperson.[22]

On July 14, 1931, Flournoy was an incorporator of the New Homes Corporation of Charleston, a building and construction firm, which was headquartered in the Davidson Building and was chartered with a capital stock value of $50,000.[23] Flournoy was later president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation of Charleston.[2] In his role as president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation, Flournoy was involved in the establishment of a local association of mortgage businesspeople in February 1952.[24] Flournoy was named by the association as one of three men appointed to the by-laws committee.[24]