Buffalo Rising Online

Nov 21st 2007, 1:22pm By queenseyes

After being granted the opportunity to tour the renovated Guaranty Building, I called Hodgson Russ to see if President/CEO Gary Schober (photo below) was available for an interview. As luck would have it, Gary was on his way back into town, so we met up last week to talk about the events that led up to the law firm’s integral investment in the city’s architectural cache.

“I’ve never done a project like this before,” he confessed to me. “At this point, it’s tough to step back and appreciate what’s going on. I don’t think I ever got the ‘wow effect’ that most other people get when seeing the renovated building for the first time. It’s kind of like watching your kids grow up… you don’t notice the big changes because you’re so close to them all the time."

Explaining how the project began, Gary said, "The partners at the firm had a 98% vote to move forward with the project. Once things got going we decided to leave it in the hands of the architects…we didn’t want to open the process to too many opinions. We received bids from a number of prospects…getting the contract to work on the building was a big deal--a real highlight on any architectural firm’s resume. As a matter of fact, the firm that won the contract--Gensler out of DC--didn’t know that their other office in NYC was also making a bid."

He further explained, "What many people don’t know is that our firm began seeking a building seven years ago. We were looking for a building that could accommodate all of our lawyers. Two former Presidents, Dianne Bennett and Robert Conklin, handed the task off to me and said, “Schober, go do it.” In the end the Guaranty Building was still not big enough to house everyone at the firm.”

I was unaware that the ball had begun to roll on this renovation project so many years earlier. That time frame put many things into perspective…like the fact that Hodgson Russ was well ahead of the curve when it came to any signs of a downtown renaissance.

“One of our partners, Dick Campbell, fell madly in love with the building. Our firm has always played a large role in the community, and that role is what brought me here from New York. I remember that it was 1978 and I made the announcement at the family Thanksgiving dinner table that I was moving to Buffalo. Half the family thought that I was kidding, and the other half thought that I had gone crazy. Nevertheless I picked up and moved here with my wife. I told her that the second she wanted to go back to New York, we would pack our bags and head back. Looking back, I know that I never intended on staying here. I had grown up in the shadow of the Empire State Building, but he thought of moving to Buffalo--to a prestigious firm like Hodgson Russ where there was no limit to what I could accomplish--that was an exciting thought. But I didn’t think that it was going to be a permanent decision.”

Gary admitted to me that there was only one reservation that certain people had when making the decision to purchase the Guaranty Building. “We didn’t want to be cast as an old firm. Hodgson Russ prides itself on looking forward more than looking back. When we made the decision to make this move, we did it at a time when others were saying it was crazy to bet on Buffalo. We were smart about our growth, and at the same time we were investing in Buffalo we began to invest in other markets. Since we are headquartered here we tend to do most of our hiring and training here… and our support staff is here too.

Hodgson Russ has grown alongside Buffalo (the firm played an active role in forming the City Charter, the Erie Canal, railroads, steel, UB…) and we will continue to grow and follow a strategic plan that will benefit the firm and the city. This past summer we hosted a firm-wide party at Shanghai Reds on the water. The weather was beautiful and we hit a major homerun. Recently I put a weather widget on our website comparing the weather here and in NYC. This summer the weather in Buffalo was better almost every single day.”

Towards the end of the conversation I found myself wondering about a couple things that he had mentioned early on. I asked him if his family still thought he was crazy since they obviously learned that he had not been joking. “My family members in NYC love it here. They’re going to be in town next week. They have even admitted to me that life is better here… I could never spend the time that I do with my family if I was working in Manhattan. Between the time at work and the commute? Here I can work long hours and make it home in time to coach soccer. There’s something to be said for quality of life. I have always believed that this city needs to realize its unfulfilled potential. That’s why Hodgson Russ, the largest law firm in Buffalo, will continue to play a role in the community; we have an obligation to fulfill, and remodeling the Guaranty Building is just one of those ways that we’re becoming a catalyst for change.”