To accompany the article about Sneed, Vine & Perry’s 100th anniversary, the Austin Bar conducted the following interview with Sneed, Vine & Perry Managing Partner Bill Brown.
Tell us about your personal history at the firm.
I joined the firm (then Sneed, Vine, Wilkerson, Selman & Perry) on March 1, 1977, after graduating from law school. My father was a banker at what was then City National Bank and was on the Board of the Bank with Robert Sneed. Robert was looking for a young lawyer so the connection was made. I interviewed with Robert and others at the firm and accepted a job offer and started March 1, 1977. The weekend I interviewed, my wife and I met Robert at the flashing light on Highway 290 at Henly–a bump in the road between Austin and Johnson City. Robert got out of his ranch vehicle with his ranch boots, ranch coat, hat and an unlit cigar. My wife wasn’t sure what to think as she was never a ranch person. Robert and his wife, Anna, entertained Karen and me at his ranch in Blanco County and it was delightful. They were so friendly, down-to-earth, and welcoming. Robert became a second father to me and was a wonderful mentor.
My law practice is almost exclusively commercial real estate transactions and business entities. I have been very blessed to have outstanding mentors (Robert Sneed, John Selman, Sam Perry, Mark Silverstone) and colleagues.
On March 1, 2027, I will celebrate 50 years at Sneed, Vine & Perry. I love working at the firm. My job is interesting, challenging and rewarding. I have the privilege to have very sophisticated real estate investors, developers and entrepreneurs as clients, and I enjoy analyzing, structuring and implementing commercial real estate transactions, not only in Austin and Central Texas, but throughout Texas. It is extremely rewarding to drive around Austin and other venues and see projects I worked on, either from inception, acquisition, repositioning, leasing, construction, or sale.
What does the firm’s 100th anniversary mean to you personally?
Our firm is the oldest locally owned law firm in Austin. McGinnis Lochridge was founded in 1927, so we are a year older than that great firm. We have had numerous opportunities over the years to join (or be acquired by) larger law firms and out of town and out of state firms looking to enter the burgeoning Austin market, but we have always resisted as it was extremely important to preserve our independence and culture. While Jerome Sneed founded the firm in 1926 (he died before I joined the firm), the absolute core of our firm was Robert Sneed. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Robert and his legacy and I have made it one of my core missions to preserve the firm Robert grew and his legacy.
What has changed most about the firm during your time here, and what has remained essentially the same?
While we have grown and adapted to the times, the core values (honesty, integrity, dedication, and hard work), business structure (more on this to follow) and family culture (family comes first for everyone at our firm) instilled by Robert have remained the same. Robert always said, “Law firms break up over money.” Big law and larger firms typically have a pyramid structure, with senior partners, equity partners, junior partners, senior associates, junior associates, etc., with those at the top reaping the benefits of those lower in the pyramid. Also, there can be significant equity contribution requirements for partners. There are good reasons for the pyramid structure, mainly to reward the rainmakers who bring in the business. However, frequently in that structure, the younger lawyers end up doing a disproportionate amount of the actual work, with long hours and endless days away from family. Usually there are compensation committees who set compensation for partners and associates. It is inevitable that some lawyers feel they are not being fairly compensated or doing a disproportionate amount of the work, creating friction, jealousy, factions, and ultimately causing smaller groups to band together and break away, either going to greener pastures with another firm or forming their own smaller firm. Big law can work and be successful, but it wasn’t for us.
Robert believed in rewarding hard work and allowing younger lawyers who worked hard and proved themselves to become partners in the firm at an early time in their career. Robert, John and Sam were also extremely generous handing down long-term firm clients to younger lawyers without expecting anything in return. I was a direct beneficiary of their generosity while also developing a number of my own clients. Our compensation system is also 100% objective and based on collections, not a subjective system based on the decisions of a compensation committee. We also have modest, but nice office space, which allows us to keep overhead lower. This allows us to keep our hourly rates lower than our competitors .
We also have a strict “no jerk” policy (we actually refer to it as “no asshole” policy ). It is common for lawyers to be “Type A” personalities, with big egos in a high stress environment. We don’t tolerate bad behavior (and frankly have almost never had to deal with those kinds of issues). We have a very collegial, friendly, respectful, and cooperative team, and genuinely care about each other, not only the partners, but all the lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants, and staff. I feel our entire team is in the boat rowing together for the benefit of our clients. This is evident by the longevity of most of our people. My legal assistant has worked with me for 25 years and my lead associate attorney for 33 years (she never wanted to be become a partner). I have partners who have been at the firm almost their entire careers. One of my partners came in my office just today telling me he and his legal assistant will celebrate their 10th anniversary with our firm on October 1. He said joining our firm was the best decision he ever made for him and his family. Our CFO recently sent me an email on his fifth anniversary with the firm saying he considered it a privilege to work at Sneed, Vine & Perry. In an interview with a new prospective attorney, one of my partners referred to us as “a jolly group.” I think you could ask any of our team members and I think they would say Sneed, Vine & Perry is a great place to work.
What do you think has allowed Sneed, Vine & Perry to endure through generations of lawyers, enormous changes in Austin, and changes in the practice of law itself?
I think we have endured due to the core values instilled by Robert, John, Sam and others. We handle very sophisticated multi-million dollar projects, and sophisticated commercial litigation matters, and directly compete with the big city firms that have come to Austin, at hourly rates that are substantially less than our competitors. We deliver high quality, efficient service at a fair price. We have numerous clients that have been loyal to our firm for decades. Also, we have adapted with the times. A.I. is the new kid on the block and we have taken a very deliberate, but proactive approach to A.I., incorporating it as a tool, but not a replacement for creative thinking and sound legal work product, while safeguarding the confidentiality of our client’s business.
Anything else you want to add?
One of my primary missions over the last several years as I entered the twilight of my career has been do everything I can to preserve the legacy that Robert and others inspired for our firm, and to preserve their legacy for the future generations of lawyers and staff in our firm.
