IAM1491 – Law Firm Founding Member Offers High Mission of Service to Clients

Jon Vegosen is a founding member of the Chicago corporate and litigation law firm Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman and Dunn Ltd., where he was a co-managing partner for many years. While Jon has a broad-based legal background, he concentrates on labor and employment matters and also writes and speaks widely about them. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University and a cum laude graduate of its law school, Jon has received the highest professional peer review ratings, including being selected as a Super Lawyer in Illinois in employment law for several years. Jon has served on several boards of directors, including as Chairman of the Board, President, & CEO of the United States Tennis Association in 2011 and 2012, and has been Chairman of the Board of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association since 2015.

• CEO Story: After graduating from law school, Jon served as a law clerk at a federal judge for 2 years, then received offers from large and well-known firms however, he opted for a mid-size firm to have a broad-based background. After two and a half years, Jon received an offer he could not refuse. The chance to join a partnership in the creation of a firm, as an associate. Recently celebrated their 41st anniversary, a clear display of a well-founded firm and a strong partnership within.
• Business Service: Corporate and litigation law firm. Serve outside general counsel. Caring for legal and business matters.
• Secret Sauce: Trust and care for the clients with top-notch services. The high mission of service. Helping clients with their personal and business lives. Focused on extremely responsive. Serving as Board of Directors in Tennis Associations.
• CEO Hack: 20-year membership in the CEO Leadership Peer advisory board, supporting one another.
• CEO Nugget: Always be there for your clients. Giving your service even when not related to your work. Your mantra should be, how can I help?
• CEO Defined: Wise and effective leader in the organization. Adopt and communicate a clear and inspiring vision. Act with integrity, and walk the talk. Work collaboratively.

Website: www.fvldlaw.com

LinkedIn: fvld

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00:20 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:47 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have John Vigozen of Funkhouser Vigozen, leaving Dunn Limited. John, super excited to have you on the show.

01:00 – Jon Vegosen

I'm thrilled to be here. Thanks for having me, Gresh.

01:03 – Gresham Harkless

Super excited to have you on and talk about all the awesome things that you're doing. And of course, before we do that, I want to read a little bit more about John so you can hear about some of those awesome things. And John is a founding member of the Chicago corporate and litigation law firm, Funkhouser, the goes in Lehman and Done Limited, where he was a co-managing partner for many years. While John has a broad-based legal background, he concentrates on labor and employment matters and also writes and speaks widely about them.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University and a cum laude graduate of its law school, John has received the highest of professional peer review ratings, including being selected as a super lawyer in Illinois and employment law for several years. John has served on several boards of directors, including a chairman of the board, president and CEO of the United States Tennis Association in 2011 and 2012. And has been chairman of the board of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association since 2015. John, excited to have you on the show again, my friend. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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02:05 – Jon Vegosen

I am ready. Thanks so much again.

02:07 – Gresham Harkless

I appreciate you. So to kind of kick everything off, I know I touched on it when I read your bio, but I wanted to rewind the clock. Here is a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:17 – Jon Vegosen

After law school, I served as a law clerk to a federal judge for 2 years. And thereafter, I had offers from some large, well-known firms here in Chicago. However, I opted for a mid-sized firm because back then it didn't require attorneys to specialize early on in their careers. And I was still finding my way and I wanted to at least initially have a broad-based background. About two and a half years after being at the mid-size firm, I received an offer that I simply could not refuse. Two partners in the firm offered another associate in me the chance to join them in the creation of our own law firm.

They said, we'll make you a partner overnight, we'll double your compensation to start, and you'll have a major say in the running of the firm. I seized the opportunity and they were true to their word and that seems like a few minutes ago but my firm, Funkhouser Vagos and Leibman Dunlimited, well we celebrated our first 41st anniversary this past February. And by the way, because it's such a mouthful, we call our firm F-E-L-D for short.

03:28 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, I appreciate that. I definitely wish I had known that in the introduction, that would have helped out a little bit. But I love that you watch me squirm. But I love that aspect about being and making that decision of joining the midsize firm. Because I think, and there's this book that I was reading recently, it talked a lot about sometimes when you get more quote-unquote general knowledge and you get to work in so many different aspects it helps you out a lot more when there are disruptions, and changes because you have so much kind of you know more varied you know knowledge and experience so I imagine you know working in a startup firm that probably helped out tremendously.

04:05 – Jon Vegosen

It certainly did. I feel very blessed to have had that background crush.

04:10 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more and hear a little bit more on how you're working with and serving clients. Could you take us through a little bit more on what that looks like?

04:19 – Jon Vegosen

Sure. In terms of our practice, FELD is a corporate and litigation law firm of about 20 attorneys. We don't believe in having our attorneys specialize early on in their careers but rather encourage them to work on a variety of legal matters. It provides them with an excellent foundation. Moreover, our clients, most of whom are middle-market companies and wealthy individuals, appreciate our approach as we generally serve in the role of outside general counsel. Having said that, as our attorneys develop knowledge, experience, and interest in areas of the law, they start to gravitate more toward a few areas.

For example, in my own case, I do a great deal of employment law work. In my representation of employers, I take a proactive approach and help them stay out of court. And I accomplished this in a number of ways. One critical way is by training managers in interactive, plain English sessions about matters such as how to prevent and investigate sexual or other harassment, the importance of documentation and how to document effectively, and how to interview candidates so that an employer doesn't end up saying, well, that's not the person I hired. In terms of our services, I think we help people in a number of different ways.

Our broad-based backgrounds early on in our careers enable us to view and solve problems from a business perspective. Many issues that cross our desks will complement our experience. We have a saying on our website that is, someone here has done it before. And I believe that is quite apt. In addition, because we're a small firm and we run a business, we can put ourselves in our client's shoes when we advise them about legal and business matters. And perhaps most importantly, Gresh, we care about our clients, their well-being, and their visions. Our clients know this about us, and they put their faith and confidence in us to well advise and represent them. We take responsibility seriously, and that bond of trust enables us more effectively to help our clients.

06:39 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. So you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. It could be for yourself personally, the business, or a combination of both, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

06:51 – Jon Vegosen

Well, you're right. I think that the 3 things I just mentioned make us unique. In addition, in my own case, I think it's my approach to serving clients and my responsiveness. With what I call a high mission of service, I believe I provide clients with first-rate service and advice. In addition, I help them with things in their personal and business lives that have nothing to do with legal issues. This includes offering helpful non-legal suggestions, sharing my network of contacts with them, or doing favors that can make a difference for them or their families. It's my intention to bring great service, but also joy to their lives.

In addition, I focus on being extremely responsive, especially when they ask for legal advice. This includes returning phone calls promptly and making their issue the most important thing on my mind, no matter what else I have going on in my life.

07:50 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, and that's so huge. And again, I go back to that quote that I kind of talked about, but I often say that people forget about the human aspect of business. And especially, I imagine, when you're going through any trying time, whether it's, I imagine it's a client, but even anything that somebody just wants to talk and connect and maybe bounce ideas or have that conversation, you want to make sure that you are building that trust by being able to kind of see that human side and be there for people.

08:16 – Jon Vegosen

Absolutely.

08:18 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

08:30 – Jon Vegosen

Great question. I think there are two things. The first has been my over 20-year membership in Vistage, which is a CEO leadership peer advisory board. There are 15 other CEOs in my business group, and they're from different kinds of companies and perspectives. And we support one another in facing our challenges and sorting out issues that arise. It's like having an outside board of directors. In addition, we have excellent outside speakers, and I'm proud to say that I've been a Vistage speaker for 18 years. Vistage has been so valuable for me that I've only missed two meetings of my group out of over 250 meetings in over 20 years. Moreover, we have other leaders in our firm who are also Vistage members and they too have found Vistage to be a tremendous resource.

I think the second secret thought is I've had the privilege of serving on several boards of directors, including, as you mentioned, chairman of the board, president and CEO of the United States Tennis Association. Those experiences and the opportunity to work with and lead such high-quality people and deal with some fascinating and complex business issues have had a profound impact on my decision-making, and the advice I provide to clients, and I think my leadership abilities and style. So those are the two things, Gresh.

10:04 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I appreciate you sharing that so much. So I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this might be a little bit more words of wisdom or a piece of advice. I usually say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you happen to be a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

10:22 – Jon Vegosen

Love to go in the time machine.

10:25 – Gresham Harkless

Wouldn't we all?

10:27 – Jon Vegosen

My golden nugget is always, always, always be there for your clients. This was brought home for me by a client for whom I've not only provided legal services at the time, and that's particularly when he knew I had a lot on my plate, but also one, I introduced him to a fund of employment opportunity that he accepted and did very well at. And two, I assisted his daughter by conducting a mock interview of her and critiquing it, which helped her get into the law school of her choice. Well, the client wound up sending me a wonderful note that illustrates my point about, oh, he's being there for the client. And if it's OK, in the relevant part, I thought I would read what he wrote, and I have his blessing to do so.

11:17 – Gresham Harkless

So I'm just going to read you the short note he sent.

11:18 – Jon Vegosen

He wrote, from my perspective, you're a man without pretense. Many thanks for being an extraordinary example of how a person of your sheer brilliance, commitment, and humility can embody an individual such as you. Of course, your business catchphrase, quote, we return your phone calls promptly, unquote, is certainly true. But it's the boundless energy combined with your unbridled dedication to take care of your clients, which is really your hallmark. I probably don't need to remind you of the times when it appeared. My legal needs seem to be annually coinciding with your work with the USTA, both at Flushing Meadows during the open and when you were traveling abroad. Without fail, you've always been there, which is a really nice note to get. I think when you're in the service business like the law, your mantra has to be how can I help?

12:14 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it goes so far to have that as a mantra goes even farther to be able to kind of execute on that. So I love that you and your team and your organization have been able to do that. And I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So John, what does being a CEO mean to you?

12:35 – Jon Vegosen

Well, to me, being a CEO means being a wise and effective leader of your organization, whatever type it may be. But I think to accomplish this, one must possess the following qualities. First, I think you need to adopt and communicate a clear and inspiring vision for your organization and what your organization stands for. At the same time, you need to pay attention to well executing that vision. You can have all these lofty goals, but if you can't execute them, what's the point? Think it's extremely important to act with integrity. That's that whole trust thing we were talking about.

I think listening particularly to your employees as well as your clients, is essential. I subscribe to Stephen Covey's marvelous advice to first seek to understand and then to be understood. I live by that, or at least I try to. I think it's very important to lead by example and to walk the talk. I also think it's important to be self-aware. You need to know your and use your strengths and then recognize on work on improving or shoring up your limitations because we all have them. Then surround yourself with people who can help you with those limitations. I think it's very important to invest in and mentor the people with whom you work.

Support them in being the best they can be. As former Campbell CEO and thought leader, Doug Cohn has said, you wanna be tough on standards and tender-hearted with people. And that's a great combination that Doug articulates. The next thing is don't go it alone. Work collaboratively and share the credit. Some of the best decisions I have been involved with have been made by brainstorming with others obtaining their ideas and suggestions and then kicking them around and coming to a conclusion that builds in essence a better mousetrap. And I guess the last thing is aspiring to have people be better off for having spent time with you. Those are the leadership qualities that I think are important to being an effective leader.

14:46 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, John, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get a hold of you, and find out about all the awesome things you and your team are working on.

15:06 – Jon Vegosen

First, when you're dealing with a client or a prospect who's reluctant to follow your advice or suggestions, I'd suggest that you consider using what I call a high-value question. What's a high-value question? Well, it can reveal your value or the value of your idea in an indirect but convincing way that may carry the debt. You let the, basically, facts and the high-value question carry the day for you. In terms of the best way to contact me, you or your listeners or readers can visit our website, which is fvldlaw.com. That's frankvictorlollipopdoglaw.com. My email address is jvagoson@f-e-l-d law.com and I'll spell Vagoson. It's j-v-e-g-o-s-e-n. And my phone number is 312-701-6860.

16:07 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much again, John. We will have the links and information as well in this show's notes so that everybody can follow up with you. And I hope you have a phenomenal today.

16:16 – Jon Vegosen

Well, thank you so much. Look forward to reconnecting with you the next time.

16:20 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.