Return to Virginia Business - December 2001

Business Law - Grant S. Grayson
Cantor Arkema & Edmonds
Richmond

by Marjolijn Bijlefeld

Client loyalty speaks volumes for business lawyer Grant S. Grayson. One fan is E. Linwood Tipton, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group well known for its "Got Milk?" ads featuring happy milk drinkers with white mustaches. When Tipton needs legal advice, he bypasses dozens of high-powered law firms along Washington’s lobbyist row on K Street just a few blocks away. Instead, he phones Richmond and reaches Grayson at Cantor Arkema & Edmonds, where Grayson is a managing partner. For 20 years, Tipton has relied on Grayson to steer business ventures around rocky shoals. "He always thinks like a businessman and acts like a gentleman," Tipton says.

Photo by Mark Rhodes

Grayson thinks like a businessman because he was one. After graduating from T.C. Williams School of Law in 1977, Grayson took a different approach from most other newly minted attorneys. Instead of working directly for a law firm, he went into an in-house corporate practice for five years with drug powerhouse A.H. Robins in Richmond. Then he spent three years working in mergers and acquisitions with the then Richmond-based Figgie Inter-national. When the company relocated out of state, Grayson joined the firm of Cantor, Arkema & Edmonds.

That business experience makes him especially valuable to clients facing today’s economic downturn. "In the past few years, too many companies borrowed too much money based on rosy business forecasts that didn’t allow them room for error," says Grayson. Those decisions are coming home to roost now. These days, business clients are carefully weighing how much debt they should assume. To help them, Grayson serves as a sounding board since he understands both the business and legal implications of these financial transactions.

Plus, being the president of a business taught him something he couldn’t learn in law school — the value of trusting instincts. If a deal brings nagging doubts that can’t be resolved, Grayson tells clients to walk away. Tipton credits Grayson’s calm with keeping negotiations smooth with his "quiet but persuasive way. He has exceptional intelligence and makes very complicated issues simple."

Another client who has been taking business to Grayson for 10 years is Giff Breed, head of the Octagon Golf Division in Richmond, which represents professional athletes. Even in the midst of nettlesome negotiations, "he’s non-confrontational," Breed says. "He has never offended the other side, and he’s extremely aware of what they’re trying to accomplish as well. He speaks fluent business."

Grayson understands the importance of nuances. "Sometimes business lawyers will talk about the deals they made, but it’s not the lawyer who makes the deal. It’s the business person," Grayson says. It’s his goal to draft documents that come as close to what the parties feel they’ve negotiated as possible. If he finds a point that hasn’t been addressed, he’ll call the client and ask about it.

The result is fewer surprises, less animosity and greater respect from the other side when the transaction is finished. Breed says that when he’s finalizing a deal that Grayson’s been involved with, "I have a tremendous sense of security. I know that he’s thought through every aspect of it."

Grayson’s attention to detail and business savvy are what made Steve Edmonds encourage him to join the firm 10 years ago. Edmonds, head of the firm’s corporate and commercial real estate group, says, "He’s done a wonderful job in terms of marketing and in service to the clients."

Edmonds was looking for someone who shared a dedication to providing high quality legal work to help him grow the business group. "We enjoy what we’re doing and we’re in it for the long haul. We want to see our clients succeed, knowing that if they do, we’ll do fine over time. Clearly, that’s working because the practice continues to grow by leaps and bounds."

Grayson’s days in the office generally start at 7:30 a.m. and "end about the time SportsCenter comes on ESPN at 7 p.m." He grew up playing tennis and basketball and even played one year of college level basketball at Northwestern — the alma mater of his wife and son and where his daughter is now a junior. His escapes through golf and has an 8 handicap at Hermitage Country Club where he frequently runs into business clients.