Return to Virginia Business - December 2001

Taxes/Estates/Trusts - Dennis I. Belcher
McGuireWoods
Richmond

by Catherine Leitch Emery

When Dennis Belcher was a boy, he was told he had to aim high. "My dad told me I could be three things when I grew up – a doctor, a minister or a lawyer," says Belcher, now a tax, trusts and estate attorney. Belcher whittled down his choices. "I’m not very good at math, I wasn’t sure about the ministry, and so here I am," he says.

Photo by Mark Rhodes

It seems Belcher made the right selection. Two days after he graduated from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, he joined Richmond’s McGuire-Woods law firm. He’s been there for the 27 years since, developing close relationships with Richmond families and guiding them through difficult turning points in their lives.

His business deals with extremely private affairs, such as selecting heirs, planning investments and trusts and giving to charities. Belcher enjoys working through personal problems. "There’s no typical day. I help families with day-to-day legal problems, and there’s often no pattern to what may come up," says Belcher.

Belcher, says co-worker Tom Rohman, is a "quick study on the dynamics of relationships and emotions. He’s savvy and decisive and he has an uncanny ability to instill a trust with his clients. They all have a great deal of confidence in him."

Trust, Belcher says, is the number one element of his job, because it involves private matters. "I end up being a family lawyer, which is a compliment and also a burden," he says explaining that he often knows more about the dynamics of a family than some of its members. One drawback: separating his client’s problems from his life. "If you don’t want your client’s problems to become yours, don’t become a lawyer," he advises. "You have to be involved."

Even so, in his job, the good outweighs the bad. "I develop very close relationships with my clients, and I often get to know several generations of a family," Belcher says.

Belcher has handled some high profile cases in his field. He represented the Jack Kent Cooke estate and helped establish the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which gives 50 graduate school scholarships for college seniors as well as grants for families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He also worked on the transfer of Montpelier, home of James Madison, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation acquired it in 1984. Belcher enjoyed working on Montpelier because the public can tour the historic building. "People can walk through that house and see a part of history. I’m very proud that I was able to be a part of making that possible," he says.

Belcher believes his most useful skill as a lawyer is his ability to make decisions. "It may not be the right one, but I can make a decision very easily," he says.

Co-worker Rohman agrees. "He synthesizes information very well. He has natural leadership abilities. If you sit down with him, his leadership skills really blossom and like any good leader, he cannot only make a choice, but he’s able to create confidence in that choice."

Growing up as a farm boy in Harrisonburg taught Belcher the value of hard work. Yet, he makes time for his family. He talks proudly of his daughter, who is following his footsteps and studies law at the College of William and Mary, and his son who is an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. His youngest son attends St. Christopher’s School, where Belcher is chairman of the Board of Trustees. He also serves as general counsel to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

Still, he says it’s true that the law is a jealous mistress. "It’s hard work. The law is constantly changing, and you have to keep up with it. That’s why it’s so important to enjoy your job. I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing."