“If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep
foundations of humility.”
— Saint Augustine
Attorneys Jerome Fogel and Constantine Potamianos, partners in the prestigious Fogel & Potamianos LLP law firm, know that in order to create success stories for their clients, they must inspire integrity as the core value of their practice. For them, this means the essential concepts of hard work, clarity, honesty and transparency within their team and each other.
But this didn’t just magically happen. Both Jerome and Constantine were entrepreneurial with legal experience; however, they traveled their own roads, with their own stories. Those roads luckily merged into the successful firm they have today, in part due to the commitment they both have to integrity and intentional care.
Part of Constantine’s road was serving in the military, which directly influences his work ethic, focused discipline and ability to work well under pressure. Being part of the Army’s Special Forces specifically helped train him to be quick on his feet, even in environments in which he was navigating new situations. It also inspired a powerful bond within his team and his clients.
“Constantine brings that code of honor from his military service, business experience and family values. He is the godfather and is our strategist. He has been through all the battles. He is a fierce and wise negotiator… always calm under pressure.”
But as someone whose through-line is constantly looking to be challenged, his story goes even far beyond the 25 years he has spent in active, reserve and guard military service. Originally from Los Angeles, he graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a double major in Economics and Government/International Relations. Looking to push further, he got a second degree in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland.
And that was only the beginning of his education. While founding and managing an information technology company, at the same time he enrolled in grad school back at Georgetown and was the first – and perhaps still the only – person to simultaneously complete the JD, MBA and honors IBD (International Business Diplomacy) programs. Following graduation, he accepted an invitation to go to New York, the center for finance and corporate deal making in the US, and spent two decades there, working in corporate law and investment banking before moving to Austin.
Jerome explains of his partner, “Constantine brings that code of honor from his military service, business experience and family values. He is the godfather and is our strategist. He has been through all the battles. He is a fierce and wise negotiator… always calm under pressure.”
Jerome, for his part, came by his work ethic via another avenue – athletics. In Calabasas, California where he grew up, he was a high school wrestler, bodybuilder, and even once cycled across the country. He shares, “I learned that you need good coaching and discipline to be successful. Law is also a team sport.”
“I genuinely liked Jerome and appreciated him as a great human being. What we have is much more valuable, and that’s this implicit trust in each other.”
He went to UC Berkeley, then the Berkeley Haas School of Business, and was inspired by professors who helped him to recognize that his love of business and law could complement one another. This led him to NYU School of Law and as he says, “The rest is history.”
And so much history there is! The two met after Jerome reached out to Constantine in need of advice about a matter on which he was working. And just like that, after about a year working together, Jerome asked if Constantine would be interested in partnering in a law firm. Constantine remembers, “I genuinely liked Jerome and appreciated him as a great human being. And I’m kind of at that point in my life where I have a ‘no a-holes’ policy. I don’t want to work with them; I don’t want to deal with them. Life is too short to have to deal with that!”
So when Jerome asked if they should write up a partnership agreement, Constantine said a handshake would do just fine. He says, “What we have is much more valuable, and that’s this implicit trust in each other.” While they would certainly not recommend this approach for all of their clients, Jerome and Constantine know the value of trust, as even corporate law powerhouse Wachtell, Rosen, Lipton & Katz was founded on a handshake.
While trust might be the base of their foundation, actual respect for one another is one of many building blocks. Jerome conveys that he often sought out mentorship from his coaches as an athlete. And even though he enjoyed his short stint in other firms, there wasn’t just one person he could look to for leadership. That changed when he began working with Constantine. He says, “Constantine became that mentor I never had. He showed me the ropes, how to do deals, how to be detail oriented, how to be calm under pressure, how to negotiate.”
But it goes deeper than leadership. He added, “I didn’t realize I was going to have one of the greatest coaches in my life just because we started working together. I wasn’t seeking it. But he was available and he has changed me as a human being and as a lawyer. I owe a true debt of gratitude to him. And I think that gratitude has spilled over to our culture, our team and our clients.”
“I’ve been at a number of law firms, including some of the largest in the world, and what we have here is something special. We are particular about who we ask to join the team and what clients we work with, but once we make those decisions, we view everyone as part of the family. That feeling extends to our clients. That’s unusual in this business, or any business for that matter.”
The feeling is mutual. Constantine humbly replies, “I care for him like a brother. And what I tell him, and truly believe, is that Jerome is the heart and soul of this firm. He’s what makes this firm tick. None of this would be possible without him. I truly value everything he does and brings to this. I trust him implicitly. This goes back to the handshake deal because that’s what it was.”
Constantine believes that the respect his team has for one another fully reflects in the work with their clients. “I’ve been at a number of law firms, including some of the largest in the world, and what we have here is something special. We are particular about who we ask to join the team and what clients we work with, but once we make those decisions, we view everyone as part of the family. That feeling extends to our clients. That’s unusual in this business, or any business for that matter.”
What grew from this mutual respect is now a fierce team, with a solid client roster, running out of two offices: Austin and Los Angeles. Their client needs run the gamut from corporate to fund formation to sports and entertainment to patents and intellectual property. It’s never a one-size-fits-all. The common denominator, however, remains the care and respect each client is given. From Sleeping Baby to Pedro Martinez to Altrus Capital to any other client, F&P, as Jerome explains, “starts with a great team around the needs and dreams” of those clients.
Moreover, it’s important to the firm that their clients are people in whom they believe. The Ritz Carlton corporate motto is “We are Ladies and Gentleman serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” Similarly, F&P’s model could be described as “We are honorable people serving honorable people.” That is an intrinsic element to their smooth sailing ship.
“Robert Kramer has the golden touch. I say that because whatever he gets his hands on turns to gold. He is the embodiment of our value of genuine care, caring for our clients’ matters as if they were his own.”
Another big building block of their success is their holistic approach. Constantine shares, “We look to ultimately provide a business solution to our clients – not just a legal solution. And we look to further their business goals. We just bring a much greater breadth of experience in life and business than your typical law firm.”
Jerome agrees. “We have what I like to call a 360 degree view of deal making. We’ve sat at every seat at the table, so that when a client comes to us, we’re not just taking some solution off the rack and giving it to them. Every solution is unique and customized for the needs of that client, and I think that’s how our practice areas have developed.”
The F&P team also includes Robert Kramer (Senior Intellectual Property Counsel) and Christina Lowe (Executive Director), each an integral part of making the wheels turn. Of Rob, Jerome says, “Robert Kramer has the golden touch. I say that because whatever he gets his hands on turns to gold. He is the embodiment of our value of genuine care, caring for our clients’ matters as if they were his own.”
“Christina,” Jerome says, “is our maestro.” He proudly adds, “There are so many relationships backstage and front stage that make things happen for our clients, and she orchestrates it all. She has deep relationships with people and a knack for organizing repeatable systems. She is so talented and gifted and is the glue of our team.”
“Christina is our maestro. There are so many relationships backstage and front stage that make things happen for our clients, and she orchestrates it all. She has deep relationships with people and a knack for organizing repeatable systems. She is so talented and gifted and is the glue of our team.”
Jerome truly lays out the foundation of their practice when he says, “We came up with these five core values: excellence with responsiveness, confidence without attitude, passion about results, genuine care and service orientation.” He adds, “This is how we treat each other and how, in turn, we treat the firm and the firm treats our clients. And I think we created a culture within our firm, within the team and our clients. Something special came out of that.”
Constantine sums up the bottom line for their success. “I’d say there are three things that have to make sense for any opportunity. And it’s in order of priority, really. One is who are the people I’m going to be working with? I want to like and trust and respect the people I work with. Two, is the work interesting? I don’t want to be bored! And three, do the economics make sense? But number one is always the people. We genuinely care about each other, and we genuinely care about the people we choose to work with – our clients.”
Jerome concludes, “That caring creates success for our clients, which in turn creates success for F&P. We are very proud of the special family and firm we have built and continue to build.”
