Super Lawyers - Virginia 2011

Q: Seems like you have a great variety of clients.

A: Yes, we’ve done work for the Capital Region Airport Commission, the Richmond International Raceway, the Greater Richmond Convention Center. We do work for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which is one of the top 10 in the country, and we secured a lot of funding and other things for them over the years. Example: Tomorrow night, we’re going to the only Picasso exhibit on the East Coast. The fact that you can help with something like that is pretty nice.

Q: It must be fun to drive around Richmond and see your handprint all over the landscape. A: There are some [projects] in which I’ve been a significant player; others I’ve just helped with. That is a very tangible illustration of what you’ve been able to accomplish. I do find that rewarding, because we’ve got a great city.

Q: Did you grow up here?
A: I was raised in a rural part of an adjacent
county and my children were raised in
suburbia, if you will. But the same community
feeling is here. I mean, people really care. I
always say Richmond is a big city and a small
town. You get to know people, you maintain
relationships, it’s got just about every cultural
opportunity and recreational opportunity. The
best thing is it is a wonderful place to raise
a family. We own a beach house at Virginia
Beach, and we’ve got offices down at Virginia
Beach and Norfolk, so that’s my real hobby:
the beach. Just like any other area, there
are some places that are better than others,
but we’ve been very vibrant, we’ve done well
through the various ups and downs in the
economy. I finished high school in ’ 61, and the
South obviously had difficulties adjusting to
the desegregation and so forth, but the city of
Richmond never closed its schools, the local
counties never closed their schools, and we’ve
not had the aftermath of those days and
people get along well. It’s just a nice place.

Q: Is that just the best project you’ve worked on? A: Well, my wife thinks the pinnacle of my public and private career is having been part of the team that brought Nordstrom to Richmond. I’ve worked with a number of governors and served in the Legislature and on college boards, but bringing Nordstrom, that is it.

Q: At age 67, sounds like you couldn’t be much happier with life. A: I am doing the type of work that I love and just every day it’s exciting and fulfilling. That’s not to say there aren’t some days when it’s less fulfilling and a little too exciting, but after 40-plus years, my career has gone very well and I’m very pleased with where it’s taken me. I thoroughly enjoy it, and my wife tells me I can’t come home to retire. You know, everybody has their own turf, and I don’t think she’s really interested in my being around her “office.” She knows I’m at times a little, not demanding, but I do tell her what I think. I’m not a golfer and I don’t have those types of hobbies.