1. How do you define your legal practice and typical clients?
My practice is threefold. First, I have a history of working with business owners and investors as outside general counsel and litigation counsel. Second, I have experience working with real estate and mortgage investors with default servicing and creditor rights matters. Third, I have a general litigation practice that has a fiduciary litigation branch – there, I serve the litigation needs of those involved with fiduciary relationships (like trusts/trustees, probate and estate matters, relationships between a client and a trusted advisor (like financial advisors, accountants, persons with power of attorney)
2. Tell us about your legal career journey. What made you become a lawyer and how did you land at Practus?
I am a first-generation lawyer. I wanted to be able to help my family, friends, and community when legal issues inevitably arise. I worked in the business world for six years after graduating from college, but I had that constant urge to go to law school. I graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2007. After that, I worked at a large law firm and eventually started my own law firm in Ohio. From there, I became licensed to practice in seven states and grew my practice to a point where I was the managing member of a boutique law firm serving clients in over 10 jurisdictions. Then, this year, I had the opportunity to join Practus, and I am thrilled to be here.
3. What about the Practus model serves you as a legal professional, and as a person?
Practus focuses on making happy lawyers. Happy lawyers are good for clients. The model itself allows me to continue to maintain the autonomy that I enjoy, but at the same time, I’m not on an island. Practus gives me the opportunity to collaborate with dozens of experienced lawyers across the country. That’s incredibly valuable.
4. What is your definition of professional success?
That’s a question with an answer that evolves over time, or it should. The early career attorney works on honing his craft; at mid-career, the focus is on building a stable clientele. At this point, I believe professional success is defined as a four-part balance between success in the courtroom, serving the legal community, having the freedom to represent clients who need it most, and maintaining a sense of personal and family peace.
5. Sometimes our best quality is also the one that get us in tough situations. Tell us about your best quality and how it has mostly worked for you, except that one time …
My best quality as a lawyer may be the ability to see the big picture and explain legal complexities to my clients in an easy to understand way. If you’re too good at that, though, the clients may get the wrong impression – thinking their difficult or lengthy matter can be easily or quickly resolved. So, I’ve learned to ensure my clients are prepared to expect a few wrinkles along the way.
6. When you’re not working at Practus, what’s keeping you busy? Any cool hobbies or hidden talents we don’t know about?
I love to cook – especially over fire. Over the past several years I’ve competed at several Kansas City Barbecue Society barbecue events, and I’ve won a few awards! Whenever I get a chance to try a new barbecue restaurant, I like to write up a review. (By the way, Shotgun Willie’s is currently tops in Nashville.) In fact, if I weren’t an attorney, I’d open a barbecue restaurant on the Gulf Coast – closed Monday and Tuesday for golf and deep-sea fishing, of course.
Of course.
Bonus Question: What would your colleagues be totally shocked (or mildly surprised) to find out about you? Do you kill at karaoke? Write political thrillers? Watch Star Trek (original) reruns?
I’m really an open book, but I have a few quirks. I hate bad endings to movies so I’ll get to a point in the story where I’m happy with how things are but sense a turn and will happily turn it off.
Our advice – don’t watch Titanic or Million Dollar Baby.
I would add The Perfect Storm to the “Do Not Watch” list.
Noted.
