by Brett Lieberman
for Virginia Business December 2004
To
hear George P. Snead tell it, he
practices “pretty
general business law” for a
relatively small firm in a growing
area. He’s not flashy or prone
to self-promotion.
Rather, his style
is low-key, the kind of person who
listens more than talks, especially
about himself. “One of the
really nice things about doing business/commercial/corporate
law is that you deal with very interesting
people every day, most of whom are
more successful and more intelligent
than I am, and a lot of whom have
taken extraordinary risks, which
have paid off handsomely,” says
Snead.
That
may be one reason his clients and
those who work around
him like the self-effacing 35-year-old
business and estate lawyer. “His
clients just love him,” says
Russ Roberts, his mentor at Fredericksburg’s
Parrish, Houck & Snead, PLC. “They
feel like he has their interest at
heart and he’s not in it for
the money.”
Instead
of forcing through a deal, Snead
looks for ways
to make starting a business, purchasing
property or planning an estate as
painless and as profitable as possible.
He watches out for potential pitfalls
and tries to plan around them. “He
kind of helps the deal happen,” says
Jay Meadows, president of Chantilly-based
Meadows Farms, a landscaping business
with 22 nurseries. “We’ve
had other attorneys in the past who
almost make the deal impossible to
happen.”
Snead
grew up in Colorado but wanted
to live on the East Coast
where he has family. After graduating
from Davidson College in North Carolina
and getting
a degree from the College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of
Law, he was drawn to the small town feel of growing Fredericksburg. In 1995,
he
joined the six-lawyer firm.
“It’s
historic, yet it’s growing
and vibrant and it seemed like a
very nice place to raise a family,” says
Snead, the father of two children,
ages 3 and 8 months.
While
the bulk of his work is with developers,
medical
practices and a few regional companies,
Snead says working for a small firm
gives him the freedom to get involved
in other areas and to draw upon the
expertise of other lawyers. “Part
of what I’m able to do is move
from area to area a bit so I’m
not pigeonholed, and so I don’t
get bored,” Snead says.
Working
closely with clients is another
benefit of a small
firm. Raising a young family and
working for a law firm wouldn’t
seem to lend itself to a lot of free
time, yet Snead has become an active
member of the Fredericksburg community.
As a member of the board of the Community
Foundation of the Rappahannock River
Region, a local charity and counsel
to the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber
of Commerce, he has become involved
in concerns such as sprawl and transportation.
Snead also works with
the Central Virginia Housing Coalition,
an affordable housing advocate, and
is a member of the board of directors
of the Stafford County YMCA. Professionally,
he finds time for pro bono work and
is a member of the board of governors
that oversees the Virginia State
Bar Young Lawyers Conference, a public
service and professional service
arm of the bar.
Despite
the heavy load of commitments,
Snead manages
to find sometime to kick back, quite
literally, on the playing field.
While softball or basketball may
be more common recreational sports
for a mid-30s professional, Snead
works out his stress in a men’s
soccer league. “It’s
a great outlet. … You get out
and you run hard for about an hour
and a half. It’s a team sport,
so to some extent it’s social.
It’s a good way to relieve
stress,” he says.
