GRAYDON HEAD & RITCHEY - Key Persons
Alex Mattingly has no problem with not being the center of attention. On the extrovert/introvert scale, if the former were red and the latter blue, he could be indigo. He's not an introvert not in the sense of being fearful. He's more of a collected, self-contained introvert.
He realizes the world encourages the unreserved, demonstrative and gregarious. He doesn't care. He finds virtue in being un-outgoing. For one, he thinks before he speaks.
"When I was younger, in middle school and high school, I thought that having an introverted nature was a weakness. But it's just who I am. I think many of the skills I do have are because I'm introverted. I think my tendency to logical thinking stems from it. I pay attention to detail and go into situations well prepared. I'm very much an analytical thinker."
Alex grew up in Morgantown, W.Va. His father is a litigator who specializes in federal workers' comp law and who, according to Alex, is an extrovert - which goes with the territory with litigators in general. His mother was a nurse manager and these days devotes herself to looking after Alex's grandmother.
When he was in high school, Alex played catcher and first base for the American Legion state championship baseball team. He has completed four marathons. His Strengths Finder assessment indicates he's a learner, a relator and an achiever and that he's analytical and competitive. He has a recurring dream in which he makes a mistake while trimming his beard and decides to chop off the whole thing.
His taste in literature leans to fiction because, through novels, he can feel what the characters are going through without having the actual experience. Lately, he's been bouncing back and forth between sci-fi and Google's list of the 100 greatest novels. He also has what he calls a tight group of a half dozen friends who get together and go bowling and play board games like Axis and Allies. "We gravitate to games that require a lot of strategy. We're fairly competitive and analytical."
Alex realizes it takes more than knowledge of the law to be a great at what he does. "Studying was my profession as a student in college and law school, and I became a good student. Now I'm learning what qualities, in addition to knowing the law, are required to make a good lawyer."
Alex is a member of Graydon's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. His practice focuses on the design, administration, and regulatory compliance of all types of retirement, deferred compensation, health and welfare employee benefit plans.
Alex counsels clients on all issues related to offering benefits to employees throughout the entire life cycle of a plan, from commencement to termination. Alex has significant experience drafting retirement plan documents for employers, including defined contribution and defined benefit plan documents, summary plan descriptions, and drafting nonqualified deferred compensation plans. He also has experience drafting welfare plan documents, including HIPAA policies and procedures, group health plans, cafeteria plans, and educational assistance plans. Alex assists clients on issues that arise during the administration of a plan and advises on issues related to reporting and disclosure requirements, the SECURE Act, the CARES Act, COBRA, HIPAA, and health care reform. He also guides clients through the process of correcting operational and fiduciary errors, and has experience working with the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor on compliance issues.
Before joining Graydon, Alex earned undergraduate degrees in Economics and Philosophy and a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati. During law school, Alex gained an interest in tax law through coursework, three tax law internships, volunteering for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and publishing an article on a tax issue as a member of the UC law review. After graduating from the UC College of Law, Alex continued his education at the NYU School of Law, and graduated with an LLM in taxation.
Alex is originally from Morgantown, West Virginia, and currently lives in downtown Cincinnati.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Litigation Practice Group
Ally Berry's enthusiasm is authentic and contagious. She has this natural ability to energize the people around her. As one of Ally's soccer coaches explained it, her intensity was her greatest strength on the field because it infected her teammates.
Ally laughs thinking back to her days of competitive sports. "My coaches and I always butted heads. Never had a problem speaking my mind. By no means was I one of the best players on the team, but I had a knack for getting caught up in the heat of a game. And I guess my coaches found my intensity to be a motivating factor for the team."
Growing up, Ally and her two brothers spent countless hours traveling around the country for sporting events. Everyone in the Berry family was active in sports, and because they were constantly on the road, these trips became their idea of family vacations. "The majority of my childhood was either spent in the car driving to a field… or running around on a field. The Berry's are well versed in dedication, but we also know how to unwind and have a good time. My family has inspired me to be competitive and disciplined… but, most importantly, they taught me to enjoy the ride."
Her positive outlook and determination pushed her to overcome two ACL injuries in her athletic career and still become an important asset of the Wake Forest University women's soccer team. As an inspiring leader and reliable teammate, she helped lead her team to make school history when they played in the 2011 NCAA Final Four.
Outside of pursuing her dreams, Ally's strong family influence also fed her devotion to her professional career. "I get my intensity from my mom. She raised me to make meaningful choices and to find things I'm passionate about. My Dad, on the other hand, is easygoing and even-tempered. He taught me to slow down and think logically when it comes to making life's big decisions. And both of my parents encouraged me to take on challenges."
Her parents used to joke that Ally wanted to be a "career student." She has always loved learning and experiencing new things. At "Work Forest," she spent just as much time with her head buried in books as she did on the soccer field. When it came time to graduate, it was no surprise that she chose to pursue a master's degree in studies of law. This ambition led her to a newfound calling - law school. Not to mention… another three years of school.
After law school, Ally started her professional career in the courtroom working as law clerk for Judge Jody Luebbers. It was here that Ally discovered a love for civil litigation. She enjoyed exploring into the nitty-gritty details, which allowed her to hone her research and writing skills. "I loved every second spent in Judge Luebbers' courtroom. I remember being in the middle of a trial, and Judge would fire random questions at me, scribbled on a Post-It-Note. Anything from, ‘Did you think that was a good objection?' or ‘What questions did they miss on cross?' I picked up invaluable skills quickly by jumping right into the thick of it. Judge taught me to use careful reasoning, even in the heat of the moment."
Ally admits her parents were right. "As a lawyer, I feel as if I actually did pursue a profession as a career student. We research and write every day, and litigators, in particular, are always learning different areas of the law. With the adversarial aspect of litigation, I'll always have an outlet for my competitiveness."
The role models in Ally's life, both personally and professionally, have helped mold her into the attorney she is today. She works tirelessly to advocate for her clients - driven by her passion and quest for learning.
Ally is a member of the Litigation practice group, working in the areas of personal and commercial disputes.
Prior to attending law school, Ally earned her Bachelor's in Psychology with Minors in Sociology and Studio Art from Wake Forest University. While at Wake, she was a member of the Women's Soccer team. After graduating in 2013, Ally remained at Wake Forest to receive her Master's in Studies of Law.
Ally is a 2018 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was a judges coordinator for the Moot Court Honor Board, and a third year representative for the Student Bar Association Executive Board. As a third year law student, Ally interned with UC Law's Sixth Circuit Appellate Clinic and the Indigent Defense Clinic.
While in law school, Ally clerked for Judge Peter Stautberg at the First District Court of Appeals and for Judge Jerome Metz at the Hamilton Court of Common Pleas. After obtaining her limited license to practice law, Ally worked for the Appellate Division of the Hamilton County Public Defender, and, as part of the Indigent Defense Clinic at UC Law, she later worked as a legal intern for the Municipal Division. After graduating from law school and passing the Ohio Bar in 2018, Ally clerked for Judge Jody M. Luebbers at the Hamilton Court of Common Pleas.
Though it can get a little messy at times, Amanda genuinely enjoys the adventure of baking with her son Jonah and is sure that her daughter Hazel will soon be a lively addition to the process.
As a craft food and beverage connoisseur, Anthony enjoys wandering around Findlay Market. As a man who prides himself in the art of understatement, when you ask him about it, he will probably tell you that he finds the experience mildly pleasing.
Brad McPeek is a fixer who solves his clients' problems. With more than twenty years of litigation experience Brad has successfully assisted clients with a wide range of disputes - large and small. He has served as lead counsel on multi-million dollar contract, probate, trade secret, and construction cases in both state and federal courts.
Brad's recent matters include the representation of a regional health care provider with the termination of a practice group; the settlement of a complex family business dispute involving allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty; and the successful defense of a large employer's vaccine policy in response to the pandemic. In addition to his trial experience, Brad has also been lead counsel on more than twenty-five appeals; and he has argued before the Supreme Court of Ohio three times.
Brad is also a crisis manager. While he is at home in the courtroom, he equally values the work he has done to quietly and effectively resolve h is clients' urgent issues pre-suit - before they escalate.
A native Cincinnatian, Brad graduated from St. Xavier High School and the University of Notre Dame. After college, he returned home to the University of Cincinnati for law school and earned his J.D. in 1999. Since 2018, Brad's peers have recognized him as a SuperLawyer in the area of business litigation.
A former baseball player, Brenon still finds ways to tap into his competitive spirit such as playing dodgeball for Team Graydon.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Adjunct Professor at Miami
- Artist
- Senior Counselor at Bricker
Bruce, an accomplished oil painter, is passionate about finding ways to incorporate graphic imagery into civics education.
Bruce Petrie is a Senior Counselor at Bricker Graydon law firm, having served clients for over forty years in education, health care, public and private sector and constitutional law. He served on the Executive Committee of the Graydon firm for a decade. He is also the President of the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Art Museum (beginning September 2023 for two years and then Chairman).
Bruce is a lifelong visual artist (see www.brucepetrie.com) and arts advocate, a medalist member of Oil Painters of America, a Signature Member of the Cincinnati Art Club and Trustee of the Beverly Stevens Petrie Fund for diverse community arts education.
Catherine loves hiking with her rescue dog, Aspen. For his part, Aspen seems to genuinely enjoy any activity that provides the opportunity to sneak a few bites of grass.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Legal Counsel
- Member of the Board
Education
B.A. in English, Louisiana Tech University
J.D., The University of Texas School of Law
LL.M. in Tax, New York University School of Law
Christine Cushman joins the Bricker Graydon LLP employee benefits team as an accomplished legal professional with extensive experience and in-depth understanding of employee benefits and executive compensation planning, administration and compliance as well as the associated fiduciary risks and responsibilities, and legal and regulatory requirements.
Her previous legal roles have included positions at prominent law firms and financial institutions, underscoring her experience in the field. She began her legal career clerking for the honorable Judge Michael Thornton at the U.S. Tax Court. She then spent 5 years practicing law in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group at an AM Law Top 10 Law Firm in Philadelphia. She continued her legal practice at a regional firm in Philadelphia supporting both employee benefits and tax clients. She gained extensive in-house experience over the next 12 years serving as Assistant General Counsel at Nationwide Insurance supporting retirement plan services and later as Senior Vice President & Senior Associate General Counsel at Huntington National Bank, supporting its retirement plan services and fiduciary investment management businesses.
Christine has written and presented extensively on retirement plan topics and fiduciary roles and responsibilities, among other topics. She served as a Lecturer for Business Finance - Employee Benefit & Retirement Planning at the Ohio State University Fisher Business School and taught Law and the Arts at Drexel University.
She earned her Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Texas Law School and an LL.M. in Tax from New York University School of Law. Christine, and her husband, John, and their two daughters, Annabelle and Samantha, live in Lewis Center, Ohio where she enjoys gardening, reading and volunteering at the local human society and public library.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Member of the Firm 's Real
Chris Hurlburt is a member of the Firm's Real Estate Practice Group, where his practice focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, financing, and development. In addition, Chris has extensive experience negotiating and drafting shopping center, retail, and industrial leases on behalf of tenant clients in transactions involving some of the largest and most active REIT's in the country. He is also a licensed title agent in the State of Ohio, and has handled a broad range of commercial title insurance transactions over the years, including air-rights subleases, railroad easements, and urban ground leases.
Prior to joining Graydon, Chris was commercial real estate attorney with a prominent small Cincinnati firm, where he ran its wholly owned title agency. He also one of the founding principals and the manager of a high-volume, multi-state title company which handled REO sales for several national lenders.
Chris earned his JD from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, an Honors Bachelor of Arts from Xavier University, and a BS in Computer Information Technology from Northern Kentucky University. He is a classically trained pianist, weekend violist, and a voracious consumer of all genres of music from J.S. Bach to Taylor Swift. Chris is married to his high-school sweetheart, whom he met in Latin class their freshman year of high school, and with whom he has two daughters (both students at McNicholas High School, where Chris's wife is a science teacher). They reside in New Richmond, Ohio, where they share their home with two dogs, three cats, one horse, and several goats, all of whom are spoiled.
Job Titles:
- Foundation - past President
Dan enjoys spending time at the Jesuit Spiritual Center at Milford and currently serves on the Board of Directors.
Dan Reitz was already a seasoned international traveler as a sixth grader.
Every summer, his family would pack up and travel somewhere, usually internationally. By the time he was ready for middle school, he'd visited nearly all 50 states and his passport had been stamped in Israel, Italy, England, Scotland, Germany, Mexico and many other countries.
Dan's father graduated from the Athenaeum of Ohio, but decided the priesthood wasn't for him. So he got his PhD in English literature instead, and eventually retired as assistant superintendent of the Three Rivers School District. His mother graduated from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, the nation's oldest Catholic women's college, then realized the sisterhood wasn't the thing for her. They met in graduate school, married and moved to Argentina to teach. A few years later, they took a teaching assignment in Islamabad, Pakistan, where Dan was born.
He wasn't quite a year old when the family moved back to Cincinnati and settled in Colerain Township. Dan frequented the local library. It was his "Cheers" - a place where everybody knew his name. In high school, he got a job there.
He met his wife, Amy, at Miami University. During his college years, his plan was to find work in the foreign service. But he decided to go to law school instead. He likes to write and solve problems, and he came to the conclusion that a career in the law was a more attainable way to ply those skills than by becoming a diplomat.
He describes himself as driven. "Driven in the sense that if I see an opportunity that requires hard work, I'm not afraid to do the work to make it happen. For example, I realized that by working harder and taking summer classes, I could save a lot of money by graduating from college in three years instead of four, and still manage to spend a semester abroad. If you work hard, success will not automatically follow. But if you don't work hard, you'll have problems."
His idea of a vacation: If you're not tired when you get back from wherever it is you've gone, you didn't take a vacation. "I'm not going to drive from here to Juneau and sit around watching the sunset. You have to get out and explore. Vacations require energy."
His young daughters have inherited the family travel bug too, and carry well-stamped passports. Dan hopes to take them on a trip around the world while they are still young.
He's known for taking responsibility for solving problems, even when they're significant. "One circumstance that worked in my favor at Graydon was the chance to work on complicated projects early on, where I was given lots of authority and just short of enough rope to hang myself. No one here wants you to fail, and there's always someone to help you. But if you're willing to be challenged, the Firm will encourage and support you."
Dan's practice focuses on commercial real estate law, including the acquisition and disposition of real estate, the negotiation of office, warehouse, retail and other leases, and bank financing, as well as general corporate law. Representative matters include acting as lead counsel in the sale of a college campus including real estate, personal property and academic programs; the development of a $35 million office/retail complex which included air rights and TIF components; the negotiation of a 126,000 sq. ft. office lease and numerous charter school leases; the creation of a residential condominium; and acting as lender's counsel in numerous commercial loans.
Dan is certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). His accreditation, along with several other Graydon attorneys, makes Graydon one of only a few law firms in Ohio with multiple LEED APs on staff.
In 2005, 2009 - 2013 and 2015 - 2017, Dan was selected as a "Rising Star" by Ohio Super Lawyer Magazine for his work in Real Estate Law. Based on the grading and comments of his peers, Dan is recognized with an AV Rating, the highest rating given to lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell. Dan has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Real Estate Law, including being named Cincinnati Real Estate Lawyer of the Year for 2022.
Dan has a strong commitment to client service. Dan makes it his highest priority to respond to all clients promptly, to understand his clients' goals and pay attention to non-legal issues that may affect his clients' decisions and to treat everyone with whom he interacts with respect.
Dan was born in Islamabad, Pakistan, but now resides in Deerfield Township with his wife Amy and two daughters. They enjoy traveling, gardening and sailing.
For Dan, the Horseshoe League is a family tradition: on any league night you'll find as many as five Knechts pitching. He prefers an undisputed ringer but will settle for a solid leaner if the game is close.
Dan Knecht (that's with a hard "K") grew up in Finneytown and Springfield Township, the middle of three siblings and the only boy. His mother was a hospice nurse for more than 15 years, and his father retired from management after 35 years at UPS. Dan says he's like his dad in that he's easy going, and he's a funny guy. He says he's like his mom in that he is competitive and has a stubborn streak. Like most, he's a product of his family. He grew up with Sunday dinners at his grandparents' house. His role models were his dad and his dad's brothers more than someone whose name you might have heard before.
Even before he went off to college, he had an interest in law. But he took a job out of undergraduate school with the world's largest distributor of music CDs. Apple had just introduced the iPod and iTunes, so the world of music CDs had a couple more years before it would implode. Dan left shortly before that happened.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Member of the Firm 's Business Services
Dwight serves on the Board of Directors for Safe Haven Farms, Inc., an organization offering residential, day, and community services for individuals on the autism spectrum. This fall, Dwight participated in Safe Haven's second annual Walk On for Autism fundraiser.
Dwight is a member of the Firm's Business Services and Personal Client Services Groups. He has experience assisting clients in both the court room and the board room. Although he has an extensive background in commercial and fiduciary litigation, most of his practice is now devoted to helping individuals and businesses in the areas of commercial transactions, business succession planning, corporate mergers and acquisitions, commercial loans and financing, wills and estate planning, real estate and zoning law. He has assisted several clients in the food packing and tech industries. He has extensive experience with software and mobile application development companies.
Eric loves bicycling and even builds his own bikes. That's right, builds them. Several years ago he went to Oregon for a week-long training on bike mechanics through the United Bicycle Institute.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Member of the Firm 's Estate Planning Practice Group
Erica is a boy mom. She has three sons, ages 6, 4 and 2. Amazingly, in addition to all of her other responsibilities, she is her oldest son's kindergarten classroom parent. "It has been a lot of fun. My son lights up when he sees me. We are still at that age where he loves me being there."
Erica is a member of the Firm's Estate Planning Practice Group, where her practice focuses on estate planning, estate and trust administration, asset protection planning, charitable planning, prenuptial agreements, and adult guardianships.
Jerry O'Connell has been a lawyer at Graydon for over 37 years. He specializes in complex financing transactions for both borrowers and lenders but also works extensively in commercial real estate and general corporate practice areas. He enjoys working directly with the owner of a business, the stake holder who is entrepreneurial and willing to take risks to grow their business.
By the time he was in the sixth grade, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer. The business aspects appealed to him. "Because if it's done right, it's a win/win." He admires people who are successful but not flashy. Like the football player who scores a touchdown, then hands the ball to the ref instead of doing a dance.
In college Jerry was on the Ohio State University intercollegiate debate team, but he never wanted to be a litigator. He likes to consummate a business deal for Graydon clients, be it a loan, buy/sell transaction, or contract, where each party is looking to the future and hopefully gets mostly what they want, in a win/win situation, rather than in litigation, which Jerry likes to characterize as typically backward- looking and seeking to blame someone for something that went wrong.
He is one of the few Graydon attorneys assigned to review the Firm's opinion letters - official legal pronouncements rendered by the Firm on specific points of law addressed to clients or opposing parties, often in a transaction. "It's one of the most serious legal tasks the Firm performs. So it's important that I be a prudent advisor. Likewise, it's our job to help clients achieve their goals within the law. I work hard to make sure I'm not leading a client down a path that is in any way reckless, but help them maximize the value of their assets in a given transaction. At the same time, I try not to be overly cautious. I don't want to offer advice that's prohibitive. It's all about helping clients find ways to get where they want to go."
In his spare time, Jerry plays tennis year round, and enjoys the outdoors, be it hiking, boating, or snow skiing.
Jerry practices in the areas of general corporate law, commercial financial transactions, real estate, and corporate finance. He has extensive experience in counseling clients about corporate matters, financing transactions, real estate acquisitions and developments, lease transactions, tax-free exchanges, and construction projects.
Jerry represents several regional banks in various financing matters, including commercial loans, letter of credit financing, industrial revenue bonds and general real estate matters. He is also involved in real estate issues concerning taxation and tax-exemption applications and represents corporations in both financing and acquisition transactions. A licensed title insurance agent in the State of Ohio, Jerry counsels clients regarding title insurance coverages, particularly in complex and multi-state transactions.
Jerry is certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). Based on the grading and comments of his peers, Jerry is recognized with an AV Rating, the highest rating given to lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Banking and Finance Law from 2013-2020.
Hillary Hunt's hands were still shaking and stained red from the blood when she walked into the Morehead State University counselor's office. It had been a long day, to say the least. Rewind just a few hours back, though, and life was just peachy for Hillary. She was a happy college student on track to be a veterinarian, her dream job, and her hands were clean. But there she stood in that office, angry and a little confused, with soiled hands, about to make a decision that would change her life forever.
When God wants us to change direction, He's rarely subtle. Since we so often wander and stray from His will, the events in life that divert our path back to Him have to get our attention. For Hillary, God got her attention on a farm, and it was an animal science class that diverted her path.
"They don't feel pain," the instructor assured Hilary about the piglet in front of her. Hillary didn't believe him, but failing to perform the reproductive health procedure meant that she would fail the class, and Hilary does not like to fail. This is the same girl who would finish all her undergraduate courses in three years. Failure was not an option.
So, Hillary's partner held the pig upside down and Hillary made the incision. Without getting too graphic, let's just say there were some anomalies in the pig's biology that made the barn look like a scene out of Charlotte's Web starring Carrie. It wasn't good. And for someone who loves animals, like Hillary, it was traumatizing. Enough so that she wasted no time barging into that counselor's office to change her career path.
They say everything happens for a reason. Now, there are many things in Hillary's life that flowed downstream from the pig incident, but two of the biggest are her career change and her marriage, and they both go hand in hand. After Hillary's dreams of being a veterinarian washed away, she switched to political science. From there, she went into law.
Hillary and her husband Nick met the same way Hillary and Bill Clinton did - in a law school library - and the similarities of their first encounters would have continued if the first thing Hillary Rodham did to Bill was snap at him. The truth is that Nick did interrupt an important conversation Hillary was having with a friend, leaving her no choice but to quickly dismiss him.
Dejected, but not defeated, Nick was still determined to get to know Hillary. The joke today is that Nick stalked Hillary after the library incident, but many would argue that Nick just got a little creative. Some may better describe his efforts as romantically strategic.
Through a mutual friend, Nick learned that Hillary was a Cincinnati Reds fan who, after a recent break-up, joked that she'd only date professional baseball players from that point on. Nick, having played baseball in college, thought maybe that was close enough.
So, Nick had their mutual friend invite Hillary to Nick's birthday party. He picked a night the Reds were playing, betting that Hillary would gravitate toward a TV that happened to be tuned into the game. Sure enough, when Hillary arrived, she went right to the game and sat down on the couch. And that's when Nick sat down next to her, introduced himself, and they talked about baseball until they got married.
The baseball angle was clever because of how important sports are to Hillary. She ran track in high school and college, but will be the first to admit her athletic dominance equalized at the college level among Division One competition. In high school, however, she had quite the heyday. Her 4×4 team was almost unbeatable, and she won the state championship with a high jump of five feet, four inches.
The sports fanatic in Hillary almost earned her a career as a sports agent, until her inner advocate got the best of her during her last year of law school.
Mike whole-heartedly enjoys his work. He is an organizer of the Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar and this year he served as moderator of the Judicial Town Hall.
Job Titles:
- Chief Business Development Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Culture and Engagement Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Director of Administration
Steve Smith lives in Ft. Mitchell, KY with Emmy award winning writer Vicki Prichard, dogs Bruno and Oberon, and a bunch of fish in a pond with enough bullfrogs to start a choir. His parents, Jim and Gay, live two streets away in the same house where he and his sisters Caryn (Aspen, CO) and Elisabeth (Mt. Lookout, OH) grew up. His family tree falls from journalists in Iowa, corn and pig farmers in Indiana, and workers and inventors in West Virginia.
As a kid, Steve played soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, basketball, and ice-hockey, enjoyed snow and water skiing, and even tried football for one excruciating season. Soccer, tennis, and ice-hockey lasted the longest, resulting in a newly reconstructed shoulder in 2014. The denial of weekend warriors is real.
Even though it wasn't a strong suit, Steve once played basketball in the International Student Games in Istanbul, Turkey, via the Edinburgh University team in Scotland (where, logically enough, he studied Chinese). The Edinburgh team won the U.K. league, and hence the invitation to Turkey. What wasn't known was that Edinburgh was supposed to send a variety of teams, but only sent basketball. "So we played basketball, swam, ran track, and other sports, with no equipment and no training. "Waxed" is putting it lightly. It was a multi-sport beat down."
Steve's long-term clients are long-term friends. "It has to be that way. With friends there is room to disagree and have tough conversations without jeopardizing the relationship. The lack of true friendship makes tough conversations unnecessarily stressful and leads to miscommunication." Because his clients are friends with businesses, he tends to wear many hats. "Sure, there are plenty of times when I need a true specialist, and we have those, but I need to be able to see the entire business. Whether it is tax, business and personal planning, employment, internal investigations, or litigation and risk analysis, I have to be able to see it. Then, we work to solve the problem with the people and pieces that I need."
"Compliance and ethics, including Risk Management, are increasingly dominant practice areas. As clients needs develop, I develop to meet their needs."