Richmond real estate lawyer Jay Weinberg stepped into a war zone when he undertook defending retail giant Wal-Mart in its highly controversial quest to build a super center in Ashland. Even though the fight landed him in a PBS documentary, Weinberg still regards it as a case like any other.

Photo by Mark Rhodes

Never mind Wal-Mart’s clout. It is the largest employer in the United States after the federal government with more than 925,000 employees. Last year it netted $191.3 billion, more than IBM and Microsoft combined. Weinberg, who has won four previous battles against towns that did not want the stores, stuck to a simple agenda. "I walk into a room with a plan for my client and walk out with a plan that suits the needs of many. It’s a lot of compromise."

The Ashland Wal-Mart case, which began in 1999, took 18 months of planning and refining. From the first public hearing in Ashland, the project met intense opposition from residents of the railroad and college town who felt a mega store would destroy its quaint character. Some believed that Wal-Mart would bring more jobs, better roads and a larger selection of products at better prices Others worried that the store would clog roads, destroy downtown retail and taint Ashland’s historic character.

Weinberg made his original Wal-Mart proposal in the spring of 1999. It was withdrawn later that year and a scaled-down version was reintroduced in early 2000. Despite the smaller scale, the project was still racked by controversy and was the topic of a biting documentary called "Store Wars" that ran on PBS.

Weinberg is fearless but fair in debate. He is featured and quoted in the documentary on several occasions. The PBS production shows Weinberg countering opponents with data that the store’s annual tax revenues, after expenses, will make more than $110,000 per year for the town. He posited this question to the community: "What is the difference between 20 stores lined up, one by one, or a Wal-Mart? It’s the interior walls. That’s the only difference." In the end, Wal-Mart and Weinberg prevailed, and a scaled-down plan for 186,000 square feet of retail space was passed in May 2000.

Weinberg, who speaks carefully and with precision, has a glimmer in his eye when he talks about law. His practice clearly excites him. The Wal-Mart case, in particular, is right up his alley. Having to meet the needs of not only his client, but of planning staffs, neighbors, superintendents and public interest groups is what he likes the most about his job. Mike Terry, chairman of the commercial real estate and finance department at Hirschler Fleischer, says its Weinberg’s ability to hear all sides of a story that makes him a great lawyer. "He has an instinct for understanding the crucial objectives of all parties and negotiating transactions with win-win solutions. I have frequently seen him step into negotiations which were absolutely deadlocked, begin to engage parties in meaningful discussions to understand the issues causing division, and then, issue by issue, craft solutions acceptable to all parties," Terry says.

Weinberg’s "across the board" talent comes from having started as a tax attorney when he became the first associate at Hirschler Fleischer in 1959. There, he practiced both tax and real estate law. Jim Theobald, president of the firm’s commercial real estate and finance department, imagines that Weinberg can’t look out a window and not see something that he’s helped build.

Even Weinberg’s large, 16th-floor office in the Federal Reserve building in Richmond, which gives him a sprawling view of the James River, reminds him of a recent project, the Riverfront Plaza. "I like to take something abandoned like the warehouses in Shockoe Bottom and turn them into a lovely urban environment."

Colleagues see Weinberg as a lawyer of last resort. Mark Dray, a lawyer with Hunton & Williams, dubs Weinberg "one of the go-to guys" to whom other lawyers turn when they can’t handle something themselves.