ONE-ON-ONE
- September 2001
by Ed G. Lane ‘You’ve
Got to Take Risks to be Successful’
For attorney and community leader Ed Glasscock, a full
life means starting early and stopping late
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C.
Edward Glasscock
C. Edward Glasscock, 57, serves as Co-Managing
Member at Frost Brown Todd LLC. He served as the
Managing Member of the former Brown, Todd &
Heyburn PLLC for 23 years. He concentrates his
practice in the areas of merger and acquisition
and venture capital transactions for emerging
companies. Glasscock
graduated from the University of Kentucky in
1966, earning his law degree there in 1969. He
won the Kentucky Bar Association’s
outstanding service award in 1975.
He has
served as chairman of the Bellarmine University
Board of Trustees, as well as currently serving
as a member on the University of Kentucky
Partnership in Research Progress Committee. He
has also chaired the Kentucky Center for the Arts
executive committee and Greater Louisville Inc.,
and has been a vice president of the Louisville
Free Public Library Foundation since 1990.
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Ed Lane: Within the last year, Brown Todd & Heyburn
merged with Frost & Jacobs to create Frost Brown Todd
(FBT), a regional law firm of over 400 attorneys with
offices in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. How
well has the merger succeeded?
Ed
Glasscock: It’s gone extremely well. We’ve
had to go through a lot of integration in the
practice groups, accounting and back office systems,
and marketing efforts. Our goal is to provide better
and more in-depth client service in every practice
group. I’ve been pleased with the progress
we’ve made.
EL: What
benefits has the merger provided to existing clients?
EG: With
the new economy and expansion of the high-tech
industry in Kentucky, we’ve found that our
clients now need a lot more help in the intellectual
property area. Frost & Jacobs brought a lot to
the table in terms of 25 to 30 intellectual property
lawyers. In addition, the merger has provided more
depth in litigation; securities; mergers and
acquisitions; and labor. Almost every practice area
has been enhanced. The merger also gives FBT the
opportunity to be more effective and efficient with
existing and new clients. It also helps in
recruiting. FBT has been able to attract some of the
top young lawyers and experienced laterals in the
country.
EL: If an
opportunity to merge with a major Illinois law firm
materialized, do you anticipate that Frost Brown Todd
would consider expanding its geographical area of
service?
EG: What
FBT is looking at now is this region, which we define
as being Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. FBT
is now the largest firm between Chicago and Atlanta.
We want to continue to expand in that region. I
anticipate significant expansion in Nashville and
throughout Tennessee, in our Columbus, Ohio office
– we already have a significant presence there
– as well as, additional expansion in Indiana.
We’re not looking at Chicago at this time.
EL: Legal
fees are expensive and clients often complain that
attorneys do not “add value” to business
transactions. How do you respond to that type of
constructive criticism?
EG:
We’re very hands on at FBT. In a major
transaction managed by our law firm, the client will
get a top partner doing the work; in other
metropolitan areas you might get a fourth or fifth
year associate. We add value because we study the
industries in which our clients are operating. We are
deal makers as opposed to deal breakers. We try to be
facilitators of a deal because of our understanding
of the entrepreneurial aspects of a deal – all
the key business and the industry issues that are
confronting those clients that are at the table and
in the negotiation.
EL: In
addition to being “legalese wordsmiths,” do
attorneys also serve as consultants to their clients?
EG: We
very definitely consider ourselves as consultants or
counselors because we have to go beyond drafting
documents. Speaking for myself and a number of our
experienced lawyers, we’ve been in this business
for 20 to 30 years and worked with some of the top
business people in this part of the country.
We’ve learned a lot from these entrepreneurs and
can impart that knowledge, as well as our legal
experience and expertise, into business transactions.
EL: If you
were mentoring a law school graduate just starting with a
firm, what advice would you give on how to succeed as an
attorney?
EG: I
talk to our young attorneys all the time; my door is
always open. I talk to them about making sure
they’re outstanding lawyers first. They must
learn the skills of their trade, before they start
trying to generate business or getting heavily
involved in community activities. They need to
balance their family life, as well as, their
professional careers early on. Once they have
mastered skills in terms of a particular specialty,
then they can start working very closely with clients
and prospects to develop business and become
counselors to young entrepreneurs. And we encourage
our young people, at the appropriate time, to get
heavily involved and give back to their community.
EL: What
attributes are key to an attorney’s success?
EG: Most
lawyers are obviously very, very bright young people,
that goes without saying. I think it’s awfully
important for them to have a passion for the practice
of law, to work hard and to be dedicated to their
profession. Those factors are just as important as
their intellectual ability.
EL: When
selecting new attorneys for your firm, are issues like
what school they attended and what kind of grades they
earned key in your selection criteria?
EG: FBT
tries to select the best and brightest young lawyers,
but we have a balance here. We have a number of
lawyers from the national law schools and from the
University of Kentucky and the University of
Louisville. We have found that bright young lawyers
from our state law schools, if they are willing to
work hard, are just as successful as lawyers from
national law schools.
EL: As law
firms grow bigger, will it become more difficult for solo
practitioners, small firms, and “general” as
opposed to “specialized” attorneys to survive?
EG:
Trying to compete and having a general approach to
the practice of law is becoming more and more
difficult. Even major law firms are finding the
market is becoming more and more difficult because
accounting firms, with their multi-disciplinary
practice approach, are moving into the practice of
law. It’s going to be very, very difficult for
small and mid-size legal firms to compete in the
years to come. In order to serve your clients, you
have to have expertise and depth in almost every
practice area. It’s very difficult for the
smaller and mid-size firms to develop that expertise
and to provide training for their young lawyers. A
small firm can develop a labor or perhaps an
intellectual property boutique, and compete
effectively with the major firms.
EL: Is
government creating increased demand for legal services?
EG:
Without a doubt. Red tape, regulations, and new
legislation create additional work for attorneys, and
that concerns a lot of people. When dealing with some
of these issues, you need a lawyer every step of the
of the way. This is good for our profession, but
frustrating for our clients.
EL: You
currently serve as the chairman of Greater Louisville,
Inc. (GLI). Since economic development efforts, to a
significant extent, have been consolidated under GLI, how
has development in Louisville progressed?
EG:
It’s been outstanding. Louisville merged its
Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership
and the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce to form
Greater Louisville, Inc. in 1997. In 1998, GLI took
over the business expansion functions of the
City/County Office of Economic Development, so all
economic development activities are under GLI.
That’s pretty exciting, to have all of that
under one umbrella. From 1998 through June of this
year, Louisville has had 176 business locations or
expansions and created 21,460 new jobs. The growth
has generated a capital investment of $1.8 billion,
and added a new payroll of $819 million to the local
economy – an average salary of $38,000. So,
it’s a pretty exciting time for Louisville and
Jefferson County.
EL: Did GLI
target specific business categories?
EG: A
visioning committee met in 1997 to establish a vision
for Louisville and Jefferson County. It decided to
focus on logistics and distribution; and biomedical
and healthcare. Because we didn’t think
Louisville could be all things to all people, we
wanted to focus on those two areas. It has worked out
beautifully for Louisville because it has enhanced
the biomedical research base at the University of
Louisville. Governor Patton has been very generous to
the University of Louisville and the University of
Kentucky with the “Bucks for Brains”
program – that has worked out extremely well.
We’ve got the Louisville Medical Center
Development Corporation to capitalize on the economic
development and enhanced research and development
opportunities here. And there’s the terrific
expansion of UPS, which has been a major factor in
growing our local economy.
EL: What has
GLI done to aid entrepreneurship?
EG: The
Enterprise Corporation was formed to encourage and
support entrepreneurs; that has worked out extremely
well. We developed entrepreneurship courses and
programs at the University of Louisville and
Bellarmine University.
EL: What
efforts has GLI made regarding workforce development?
EG: GLI,
along with the Workforce Investment Board, is helping
local businesses locate key people. As a matter of
fact, right now 1000 resumes are on file and being
shared with 350 companies who have signed up.
We’re trying to reverse the brain drain in
Kentucky. Kentucky has a lot of young people going to
school out of state. We want them to go to school
here, and if they go to school out of state, we want
them to come home. We initiated, a few weeks ago, a
reception in Atlanta – 450 people attended and
Bill Samuels was our speaker. These are young people
who have moved to Atlanta to find jobs –
originally they were from Kentucky or have some
Kentucky contacts. We’re trying to attract them
back to Kentucky.
EL: Why has
Louisville earned a reputation for being a center for
venture capitalists?
EG:
Louisville is approaching venture capital very, very
aggressively. Back a few years ago, we had very
little formalized venture capital. It was handled by
word of mouth. Louisville now has 15 venture capital
groups, and that’s exciting because a few years
ago, people didn’t know where to go to find
investors.
The
bottom line is, reasonable deals can now be funded in
Louisville, and some of the deals that are moving
along could get additional support from the bCatalyst
operation.
EL: If a
client wants to expand its business does FBT make
referrals to venture capitalists?
EG: We
do. FBT is a sponsor of bCatalyst. We invest a
certain amount of money each year to help stimulate
activity at bCatalyst, because we think that’s
in the best interest of our community. When a client
comes in, FBT can give them an idea of who might be
willing to look at their deal, since we are familiar
with the investment criteria of the various venture
capitalist groups.
By the
way, Louisville is ranked 16th this year, by INC
Magazine, as an entrepreneurial hotspot. Louisville
is now ranked ahead of Nashville and Cincinnati, so
we’re proud of that.
EL: In
addition to your leadership at GLI, you are also chairman
of The Kentucky Center for the Arts and Bellarmine
University’s Board of Trustees. How are you able to
chair these organizations, as well as serve as the
co-managing member of your law firm?
EG: I am
able to be as active as I am because of my wife,
Mary. She’s been a wonderful partner, wife and
mother for over 30 years. Her genuine support and
encouragement have allowed me to accomplish far more
than I could have on my own. I also have great law
partners and wonderful executive staff at Frost Brown
Todd. And the same holds true for the executive
staffs at each of the organizations where I serve as
chairman.
At the
same time, I do work extremely hard. I think I have
an obligation to give back to the community. I try to
focus on education and quality of life. You will note
that most of my activities revolve around the arts,
education, and entertainment opportunities. It’s
a quality of life issue with me – making
Kentucky a better place for everyone and reversing
the brain drain.
EL: How do
you allocate your time between business and community
affairs?
EG: I
start early and stop late. I have meetings as early
as 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. and as late as 9:00 p.m. I work
a lot of weekends. I always say that I spend 50
percent of my time on community activities, 50
percent of my time practicing law, and the other 50
percent of my time on law firm business and with my
family. That comes out to 150 percent. How many hours
do I work on everything? 70 hours per week, I would
say.
EL: When you
come home from work, what’s the first thing you do?
And, how do you relax?
EG: Of
course, my kids are grown now. One is finishing her
masters at Vanderbilt University and interning in New
York this summer. And my son’s in the insurance
business. When I go home at night, I start talking to
Mary about what’s happened that day and how her
day has gone. I relax by talking. Mary and I usually
talk for 20 or 30 minutes and then have dinner.
EL: If you
were asked by Governor Paul Patton to suggest changes to
make Kentucky more attractive for business development,
what improvements would you recommend?
EG: At
the top of the list is tax reform. I think Governor
Patton wanted to move forward with tax reform, but he
didn’t get enough support from the members of
the General Assembly. Tax reform is critical.
Kentucky is losing too many citizens to Florida.
Because of the tax structure, Kentuckians are
changing their residences.
EL: What
changes in the practice of law do you foresee in the next
25 years?
EG: The
biggest changes are going to be the growth of
multi-disciplinary law practices and competition from
accounting firms. You’re going to see a very
strong move from accounting firms to take as much of
the business practice from law firms as possible. And
times are going to be very difficult. The accounting
firms have large international practices and will be
very, very competitive in marketing their services.
To compete with big five accounting firms, lawyers
are going to have to have expertise, and depth in all
practice areas.
EL: A lot of
people perceive Ed Glasscock as an exceptional person.
You get the job done, you’re highly regarded for the
quality of your work. For somebody young or starting in
business that may want to become the next Ed Glasscock,
what do they need to do to stand out from the crowd?
EG:
I’m not sure that I actually stand out from the
crowd. I think I’ve been reasonably successful
because I’ve worked with quality lawyers, a
wonderful staff, and an outstanding group of business
people.
I will
say again, you’ve got to be focused on your
legal expertise. You’ve got to be passionate
about the practice of law and serving your clients.
You’ve got to have integrity in everything you
do. And you’ve got to balance your professional
career with your family and your community.
My father
taught me that if you tackle everything you do with
integrity, enthusiasm, and a positive mind set, you
can accomplish more and make any task more enjoyable
for all team members. And I think that’s the
point. You should not worry about who gets credit for
a task. Instead, you should be concerned about
getting the job done. He also taught me to be
passionate about every worthwhile endeavor, and that
failing is part of growing. You’ve got to take
risks in order to be successful.
Ed G. Lane is
chief executive of Lane Consultants Inc. and publisher of
The Lane Report.
edlane@lanereport.com
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