Attorney At Large

Attorney Tom Garlick has one of the most enviable, high-profile client lists around, including Health Management Associates, the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Fifth Third Bank, Wachovia, the Ritz-Carlton, First National Bank of Naples and the Naples Area Chamber of Commerce.

In contrast to those large operations, he handles all this business from his small Naples law firm, Garlick, Stetler & Peeples, which he and two partners established in 2001. And despite the presence of some national firms that undoubtedly would like to glom onto some of Garlick's clients, they remain steadfast. So what's his secret?

"Pure luck," he says with a laugh. "There aren't any great secrets. When I first came to Naples, I didn't know a soul in town, so I would just get out and meet people-and I like that. The best way to do that is to get involved in the community."

And he has. Garlick is a founding board member and current president of the Pelican Bay Business Association, designated counsel of the Naples Area Chamber of Commerce and a 1989 graduate of Leadership Collier. He's a former chairman and member of the board of directors, and former trustee member of the Economic Development Council of Collier County (EDC). From 1999 to 2000, he served as a member of the board of directors and a trustee member of the Chamber of Southwest Florida.

Such community involvement, Garlick says, has led to networking opportunities over the years and a slew of friends and admirers.

"There are some people you can trust totally, and Tom is one of them," says Bill Schoen, chairman of Naples-based Health Management Associates (HMA), who first met Garlick 22 years ago. "He gives an honest opinion, and he develops solutions to problems. He's a very bright attorney and very creative in his thinking."

Garlick's philosophy is pretty straightforward. "I guess you could say I'm idealistic in that I like to help people and make sure they're treated fairly," he says.

Those characteristics began emerging when Garlick was in seventh grade. "There was a boy in my class who stuttered, and the teacher had berated him for stuttering, and would make him kneel in front of the class holding books, or he would get tapped on the head with a ruler," he says. "I was shocked and angry. I stood up in class and gave this speech defending him."

That speech set the stage for his lifelong career. The Rochester, N.Y., native graduated from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, and then earned his law degree from Georgetown University in 1963. Once he moved to

Florida in 1981, he opened a regional office for Harter, Seacrest & Emery in Rochester. It quickly became the largest law firm in Naples. But the Tampa office of Annis Mitchell soon opened a new avenue for Garlick, hiring him to start offices in Fort Myers and Naples. Armed with 10 of his top people, he quickly made the offices the only profitable ones for the firm, he says. When the Annis Mitchell firm folded early in 2001, Garlick decided it was time to go out on his own.

Garlick believes there are certain principles that make a lawyer a good one.

"It's important to learn and know about your client and his business very well, his perspective and his legal issues," he says. "Second, a lawyer must be prepared and able to create practical, cost-effective solutions to problems and achieve what you want to achieve within the framework of the law. Third, treat your clients as you would your friends. Listen carefully. Most of my clients are best friends."

Garlick is also a proponent of mediation. He is a circuit civil mediator, which means he can mediate any cases pending in the circuit courts-the highest trial-level courts in Florida. Statewide, according to the Office of State Courts, there are 2,100 such mediators, including 34 in Collier County. "For litigation-adversarial proceedings, defuse anger first to avoid making a bad and expensive mistake," he advises.

Garlick has plenty of practical experience on which to draw. He spent the first 25 years of his career in litigation. "When I first came to Collier County, there was no mandatory mediation. Later, the circuit courts required it, and it works for about 90 percent of the cases," he says.

Occasionally, Garlick will take on a litigation case. "My practice is mostly business and real estate, but a good case for a very good client gets the juices flowing. I like the competition," he says.

Garlick practices in the areas of commercial and residential real estate development and land-use law, as well as general business law. "He has the ability to separate true issues from all the noise. He can focus on the real meat of the situation," says Matt Mathias, senior vice president-managing director of Wachovia Wealth Management Team in Naples.

Garlick shows personal qualities that others find endearing. "You can pull his leg, which I love to do to him," says Myra J. Daniels, chairman, president and CEO of the Phil. "I met him and his wife, and we've been good friends for 16 years. Those who know him will never forget him because he makes a difference. He cares about the community and the community cares about him."

Colleen Kvetko, CEO and president, Fifth Third Bank Florida, adds that Garlick possesses the attributes of a good businessman. "I had met him 12 years ago through the EDC. He has a high level of integrity and honesty, yet a sense of humor," she says. "He has a way of making every single person feel important."

For Garlick, that sense of respect translates to the way he does business. "The service you give should be measured in relation to the value you give to a client and the fee you charge," he says. "I don't think you should set fees by the hour, because the firm is then driven by the billable hour. We have what we call value billing. That means we don't need to charge our clients for every little thing."

Family is also important to Garlick and his wife, Nancy, who are the parents of three grown children. When he's not with his family or in the office, he's out backwater or deep-sea fishing. "I like the fight with a big fish," he says with a smile. "I remember that time at Boca Grande Pass. We were tarpon fishing and after two hours and 25 minutes, I landed one that weighed 200 pounds and was 75 inches long. I'm six-foot-three and 200 pounds. That was the first mount I had made, and I took him to my cottage in upstate New York, where he's in the rafters in the ceiling."

Schoen, a frequent fishing partner, adds a little-known detail. "Let's just say that Tom is not good in rough waters," he says with a laugh.

Looking at the practice of law in general, Garlick offers several observations.

"It has become a bit mean spirited. Litigation has become terribly expensive, with a discovery process, thousands of pages of depositions-it has become unduly burdensome," he says.

Technology, he adds, has changed the way law is practiced today. "You see young lawyers taught more, and they have more practical experience. Before, we knew the rules, but not what to do with them," he says. "Now with technology, there is virtually no law library-it's all on CD-ROM. That has evened the playing field so that a small firm or an inexperienced lawyer can research as competently as a large firm."

One trend Garlick sees as important to the future of law centers: paralegals. "Firms are more effectively using paralegals. It's cost-effective for clients, and paralegals are very effective and competent under the supervision of a lawyer," he says.

But building a solid law practice with loyal clients relies on the basics, Garlick adds.

"First, get on committees and get involved in the community. Second, maintain your existing clients and help them become successful," he says. "Referrals and your reputation are the highest forms of a compliment. And treat your clients like you would a friend. This business is about relationships."