Thirty-five years ago, attorney John Stophel gave an associate, John Beard, advice about life as a lawyer. He said to the young man who was working for his firm, “You have to balance your faith life, family life, vocational life, community life, and recreational life. If you get too busy in one, it will squeeze out the others.”
That’s no small task for an attorney. But Beard, a business lawyer, took Stophel’s words to heart. There have been times over the decades when his work load has forced him to accept a temporary imbalance, but when the tide pulled back, he always put things in order again. “Keeping a balance is tough when work gets heavy, and your family will suffer, but when things drop back down, you spend more time with your wife and kids,” Beard says.
Stophel’s wisdom has served Beard well. Today, the 60-year-old attorney can say, with all of the honesty in his Christian heart, that work has been “tons of fun.”
He isn’t kidding, either. Beard smiles as he characterizes a good portion of his work as “keeping clients out of the courtroom.”
“Business clients really lose in court,” he says.
Beard also helps clients plan for transitions, whether that involves a sale, an acquisition, or a transfer of assets. “In one case, we’re dealing with the fourth generation of family members,” he says. “I enjoy seeing things transferred from generation to generation.”
Beard likes when a client buys something because it produces ongoing business for his firm. However, his favorite transaction is when he helps someone make a sale, and then the buyer becomes a client. “Sometimes, a buyer will come back to us and say they liked what we did, and they want us to represent them moving forward. We’re fortunate that way,” he says, looking a little like the cat that ate the canary.
Beard grew up on Signal Mountain and attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He studied accounting as an undergraduate but decided to attend law school rather than become a CPA. “I thought the law would give me broader things to do,” he says. “I was right. I’m always learning something.”
Beard had no interest in becoming a litigator, but knew from the beginning he wanted to be a business lawyer. After he graduated from law school in 1978, Stophel, Caldwell & Heggie hired him to be just that.
Beard remembers his time with the firm fondly, and is especially appreciative of the mentorship he received there. “I was fortunate to work under John and Glenn Stophel and Tom Caldwell. The training I received was phenomenal, and the work ethic they passed on to me has been a real benefit.”
Beard made partner in 1984. Although he was happy working at the firm, he was eager to start a venture of his own. Attorneys Gary Patrick and Hoyt Samples joined him. While Beard likes his work and enjoys his clients, his satisfaction with his career derives largely from his ownership of his firm, Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway. Being a lawyer has been “really enjoyable,” he says, but doing his own thing is what has made the work “tons of fun.”
Beard continues to follow Stophel’s advice to live a balanced life. He’s active in his community, spends time with his family, and relaxes when he can.
As a grateful servant of his community and profession, Beard has given his time and resources to the United Way, served on the boards of various civic and professional organizations, and been active at St. Paul’s Episcopal, the church he attends. Through the latter, he volunteered to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity. “Even though I’m terrible with a hammer, that was a lot of fun,” he says, laughing.
Beard has been married to his wife, Carol, six months longer than he’s been a lawyer. They met in Signal Mountain, where she also grew up, in 1970 while he was a student at Baylor School and she was attending Girls Preparatory School.
Together, they made their home on Lookout Mountain and had a son and a daughter, both of whom have graced them with one grandchild each: a 21-month-old grandson and a seven-month old granddaughter, respectively. The latter grandchild lives in Charlotte, N.C., with her mom and dad. Beard and his wife make an effort to see her once every six weeks.
To relax, Beard fishes. “That’s my escape,” he says. “My wife says if I die, I’d want to be sitting in my chair at work or in my fishing boat.”
Strictly a large mouth fisherman, Beard says his best day on the lake took place in Mexico, where he hauled in a ten pound, eight ounce fish, another fish over nine pounds, and a third fish over eight pounds – all before lunch. He didn’t eat them, but tossed them back in. “I was a catch-and-release fisherman before it was popular,” he says. “I still am, and believe more people should be.”
Beard is a big believer in vacations, too. He takes them, and he makes sure his staff takes them, too. “You do better work when you’re rested,” he says. To that end, Beard goes skiing once a year and makes an annual camping and fishing pilgrimage to Montana. To prepare for both sabbaticals, he runs. “My trips motivate me to run when it’s hard to run,” he says. “You have to be in shape to do those things.”
Beard hopes he stays in shape for many years to come, as he’s far from being done with work. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and I plan to do it for 20 more, Lord willing and my health holds up,” he says.
In 20 years, Beard will have been with his firm for half a century. He thinks that will be a good time to “move out.” Until then, he plans on having “tons of fun.”