Taking a break from packing up his office, Steve Handley leaned back in a leather chair.
"I will miss the people I work with," he said a few weeks before his nine-year career as the trial court administrator for Kanawha County came to an end. He retired at the end of the year.
Handley, 69, put off boxing things up until a few days before Christmas. Photographs of his airplane, which he plans to spend much more time flying after retirement, still hung on the wall.
He hadn't planned to work as court administrator for very long when he took the job.
"I just thought I'd come here three or four years and then retire. But working with good people," he paused. "It's been super nice."
"The nice thing is," he added, "I knew all of the judges before I came here."
Before taking the job as court administrator, Handley worked for a time as an assistant Kanawha prosecutor and had his own law practice. Being a lawyer, he said, allowed him to easily figure out what the administrator's job would require. And by already knowing the judges, their staff and other courthouse employees, it was a natural fit, he added.
The judges are "all unique and different and I enjoyed working with all of them. That's why I'm still here after nine years," he said.
Plus, he admitted with a laugh, the view from his office window isn't too shabby. Handley's desk faces a ground-level glass wall, which looks out onto Court Street. He can watch people coming and going from the judicial annex, but they can't see him.
"A lot of people use it as a mirror - you won't believe what people do," he said, laughing. "A lot of women check themselves out as they walk by, and we've seen fights. People come out of family court, get right outside and start duking it out.
"People don't realize, when they're on the outside, there's someone on the other side of the glass," he said.
Similarly, many who visit the judicial annex might not know Handley is there. He works behind the scenes to keep many things running smoothly.
The administrator's office does all of the purchasing for the judicial departments funded by the state - like the circuit judge's offices and the family and magistrate courts. The office is also tasked with appointing indigent defendants a court-appointed attorney.
"Basically, a big part of my job is just to work with the circuit judges - helping them with whatever they might need," Handley said.
The administrator's office also, among other things, makes arrangements when visiting judges come to Kanawha - which happens quite a bit.
"There are a lot of three-judge panels and big trials here," he said. "We have to book courtrooms for them, find them clerks and bailiffs and court reporters. When judges here have a conflict, those cases are assigned to judges out of the county, but then those judges always come here to hear and try those cases. So we take care of them."
Kanawha is the only county in the state with a court administrator. But with its seven circuit judges, five family judges and 10 magistrates, Handley said it's a much-needed position.
It hasn't been announced who will replace Handley.
In November, signs were hung on several doors around the judicial annex and county courthouse about Handley's retirement and how to apply for the job. After that, the job listing was posted on the state Supreme Court's website.
Applications were accepted until Dec. 16.
The West Virginia State Bar sent an email to attorneys about how to apply for the job on Dec. 15.
There had initially been some controversy about whether the job had to be filled by an attorney, Handley confirmed.
The job description on the Supreme Court's website stated that the position would be filled by someone with at least a bachelor's degree in public administration, or a related field, that has five years experience in an administrative or supervisory role - or a law degree.
Also, the post stated that an ideal candidate would be familiar with court rules, procedures and administrative law. The salary will be based on experience.
Handley wouldn't say whether he believes it should be a lawyer who replaces him.
"That's up to the Supreme Court," he said. "At first they said it had to be [a lawyer] and then they recently posted who could apply and they did not make that a requirement."
He reiterated, though, that being a lawyer has helped him in the position, recalling when a circuit judge asked him to serve as a mediator in a civil case. He said he did so successfully.
And, he added, he often answers legal questions from magistrates.
Well, questions and complaints, he said.
"Complaints about someone else and what can I do about it," Handley said, smiling.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.