David Perry admits tax law, estate
planning and benefits are not the sexiest legal fields. "It's not like
the kind of trial law you see on TV every week," he
says. "But what I do helps a lot of people, their
businesses and their families. I'm proud to say I have
a lot of long-term relationships with clients, whom I
now also call friends. A big part of this business is
about trust."
Perry has built that trust by
taking the time to get to know his clients. "The kind of work I do deals
with things that are very important to people," he
says. "Pensions, 401(k) plans, benefits packages.
These kinds of things have a huge impact on people's
lives and futures, especially if you own a family business.
In a case like that your estate and your business are
linked."
Perry, however, doesn't tell
war stories about his clients. "I
handle every kind of client from corporations to individuals," he
says. "But no matter what kind of client, or what
service they need from me, the basics of the business
are the same - trust, knowledge and expertise."
Perry grew up in Martinsville and graduated from the
University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce
in 1982. He received his law degree from Washington and
Lee University in 1987.
Perry has spent his entire legal
career with the same firm, Roanoke-based Flippin Densmore
Morse & Jessee,
which merged with Richmond-based LeClair Ryan in 2004.
He refers to his area of the
law as a service industry. "We
deal with people, trying to meet their needs; that makes
us a service business," he says.
His clients appreciate that approach. "Dave's service
is extraordinary,' says Amy Lampe, CEO of Tacoma Inc.
and a client of Perry's since 1991. "He always
says 'a client may not know good legal service, but they
know good service.' "
Lampe, whose company owns and
operates 21 restaurants in Southwest and Central Virginia,
says that Perry possesses a keen intellect but also
has his feet firmly planted on the ground. "David may be one of the smartest
people I know, paired with common sense," she says. "Put
those together and you have a great lawyer."
Lampe cites as an example Perry's
help in resolving a dispute over a restaurant sign
at a shopping mall. "The
mall refused to budge on allowing us to have signage
where it could be seen from the interstate," she
explains. "David was the one who pointed out to
us that the property behind our restaurant belonged to
us, not the mall and was of sufficient elevation to solve
the problem - we put the sign up there and everyone was
happy."
Perry's wife, Julie, is also
a lawyer. She is taking a break in her career to stay
at home with the couple's children, 9-year-old son
Will and 4-year-old daughter Emery. "Julie and I felt it was important for one
of us to be at home with the kids," Perry says. "She
wanted to do that for our children."
Perry's practice and his diverse
mixture of clientele require him to travel, often as
far away as Texas, and sometimes with very little notice. "My clients know
that they can reach me at any time and if they want me
to come, I'll come," he says.
However, he makes time for his family, coaching his son's
baseball team and getting his daughter to her music classes.
"When I don't have to travel because of my practice,
I don't miss a single school event," he says. "I
don't feel there is anything as important as being a
good parent to our children."
