Pollock & Sheehan.
Retiring lawyer reflects on progress of legal profession
Robert E. Liguori
Position: Partner at Adler Pollock & Sheehan in Providence
with more than 30 years of experience practicing law in Rhode Island.
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Background: Liguori has held leadership positions in public policy
and management in state government, with Cabinet positions as the director of
the Rhode Island Department of Administration and the director of the Rhode
Island Department of Business Regulation. He also served as the chairman of
the Resource Recovery Corporation. He has also served as a director of the Greater
Providence Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, the Westerly-Pawcatuck YMCA,
and the Community Chorus of Westerly.
Liguori is chair of the Business Advisory Council of the University of Rhode
Island’s College of Business Administration, a URI Foundation trustee, director
of the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island, and director of the Rhode Island
Public Expenditure Council.
He also acted as chairman of Connector Technology Corp., an electrical connector
manufacturer and cable assemblies for the military.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Rhode Island and law degree
from the Catholic University of America
Age: 64
Residence: Westerly
Liguori counsels the firm’s corporate clients on administrative and regulatory
issues affecting the insurance and securities industries and real estate, and
general business matters. He will retire at the end of this year.
Q. In your 30 some years practicing law, I’m sure you’ve seen many changes.
How has the practice of law changed?
A. It is much more complex, and there are a lot more lawyers today
then there were when I started back in ’67. When I took the bar exam, there
were about 1,500 licensed lawyers in the state. Now there are nearly 6,000,
which is good because lots of competition keeps the people who want to do well
in business. There are more specialties now.
Q. We are seeing a lot of corporate consolidations recently, including
law firms. Do you see a continuing trend with firms merging?
A. The biggest trend is consolidations. Law firms are able to handle
clients who do business across borders. Companies who do business across the
United States want their advisors to be able to handle matters throughout the
United States. Larger law firms are opening offices in a number of cities. There
is a place for large firms, and smaller firms, and there is still a place for
mid-size firms too.
Q. Is Adler Pollock & Sheehan following that trend?
A. The lawyers we have tend to be specialized in different areas of
law, and that follows what clients want – that seems to be pretty typical of
a firm. We have 65 lawyers right now, 60 full time. In the past 10 years, we’ve
doubled our revenue. Our projected revenues for 2004 are in the mid-$20 million
range. We’ve tripled our profits over the past 10 years. We find in our firm,
there are two or three areas of growth: our litigation department, we are handling
very complex litigation matters right now; our merger and acquisition practice,
which is dependent on the economy; and our real estate practice.
Q. Looking back, what are you most proud of now that you are retiring?
A. What I’m proudest of is the growth we’ve had, the firm has done
very well and I’m very proud. I’ve been in management for a long time (12 years)
and that is rare. It’s time for a new management team to come on and bring in
some new ideas. Sometimes old people tend to get stale. The state of Rhode Island,
unfortunately, hasn’t grown as much as I’d like to see, in terms of its business
space.
Q. But it has grown a lot.
A. I don’t know if it has grown a lot, it has grown some, and part
of that is we are all tied to a national economy. It is my view, however, that
we have a lot we can do with the state once we determine what business areas
could use developing, because we have a lot going for us. I’m on the Rhode Island
Expenditure Council and the state is ranked second in national integrity. We
have a great quality of life. There are industries that could locate here if
we provided incentives. I see that in the service industry, I don’t think we
could become a manufacturing state again. We as a state, if we wanted to target
the financial services or insurance industry, we could do things in this state
by way of tax incentives and tax relief to make the state attractive, we would
see substantial growth, and also employment, which produces more taxes. This
governor is working on that, and I hope he is successful. From the perspective
of a law firm, that requires more work from our part, just as it does for everyone.
Q. You are involved in many organizations. What does the Rhode Island Public
Expenditure Council do?
A. The council is a nonprofit fiscal watchdog for Rhode Island. It’s
an independent board made up of representatives from all of the major companies
in Rhode Island. We monitor state and city expenditures, conduct studies, make
non-partisan recommendations, and because it’s sustained by the members of the
board, there are no outside funding sources.
Q. Does the expenditure council work with Rhode Island government on its
spending?
A. Yes. I chaired a study of the tax structure in the state of Rhode
Island and all the various taxes, and it has been a sort of handbook for the
state government, including legislation, on ways to reform taxes. It’s called
“A System Out of Balance.”
Q. Do you think Rhode Island’s is a system out of balance?
A. Yes, I do, and I don’t think that is being critical – no state
is perfect. Like in every state, we are restricted to having a balanced budget,
we can’t deficit-spend like the president. We have to collect enough taxes to
support our expenditures.
Q. The state has worked to improve its court system, especially Workers’
Compensation Court, over the years. How do you see today’s court system in Rhode
Island?
A. I think the system in Rhode Island is good, the caliber of judges
is very good throughout the court system from chief justice all the way through
the various courts, and I think that bodes well for the state. I’m in favor
of the way we select judges. The system works. We are finding quality people
who are interested in becoming judges, and it bodes well for the state.
Q. Is there anything in the court system you feel is still a major problem?
A. No, not really. There is an enormous backlog of cases and the delay
is difficult for clients and it costs the system. But that is just something
we have to deal with. We’ve added judges, the courts have grown substantially
in my years of practice, we’ve added new facilities, and I think that’s good.
Do I think we could use more? Absolutely, but can we afford it, and is it going
to solve the problem? I don’t think so. But it isn’t a fault in the system.
There are an enormous number of cases filed in the state court system.
Q. As you get ready to retire in December will you continue managing at
the firm all year? What’s happening in the year ahead?
A. I’m staying through the calendar year, but I finished my management
position in December 2003. We are looking for a new manager and I’m helping
with that transition, which I think will be good for the firm. We are also looking
for new space, we’ve outgrown this space (at One Financial Plaza, Providence)
and I’m managing that project. We are definitely staying in Providence. We are
looking for new space in Boston, and I’m managing that, and some other projects
that carry over. We started out with two attorneys in the Boston office, and
now we have 20, and it looks like we’ll continue growing there. We are looking
at a couple other locations as well.
Q. What do you plan to do when you retire? Will you continue your positions
with the organizations you are involved with now?
A. Oh yes. I plan to stay very active.
