November 1, 2006 Host: Mary Waldron Guest: Thomas Edwards
Robert Clark discusses the history and development of the Roosevelt Library and Museum Duration: 25:42:00
Owner, Thomas Cole Edwards Incorporated; former Mayor of Newport Beach; and author of fiction novel, Gin Clear Water
By Mary Waldron
1. Let’s start at the beginning. What influenced you in your decision to attend law school and to pursue that type of career?
I enjoy politics and if you’re involved in the law, you’re involved in politics, whether attorneys realize it or not. That also gravitated my decision in terms of where I wanted to attend law school, which was in Washington, DC, which you can’t beat in terms of an education; not only in terms of the law school itself, but just sort of what you get from osmosis of being in a city like Washington, DC.
2. Tell me about the experience there at George Washington University and how that affected your next career move, in terms of internships, clerkships, etcetera?
Washington, DC has so many great opportunities in terms of things that you can do, and coming out of law school, I took a clerkship with a judge so that just gives you an even greater opportunity to look at things from just one more different perspective. I had friends who worked on the hill, I had friends who were lobbyists, and I had a very close friend who worked in the Nixon administration at the time for Henry Kissinger. So you’ve just got just all types of exposure and you felt like you could change the world; and that’s the kind of feeling I like.
3. So what did you do after your clerkship with the judge?
I traveled for a little bit, and then I came to California. I took the DC Bar, and then I traveled, and I came to California and took the California Bar.
4. I know you opened your firm in 1977. Was that soon after?
No, I was with a firm in Newport Beach for awhile; I did real estate and corporate work for them and that was a great experience—great people and I got involved in all types of things, and I then decided to go on my own.
5. So is that how you got into the whole real estate law sector?
Yeah, probably. Let me tell you, the practice of real estate is so different. I remember the days of sitting in law school and opening this thick book on real property and trying to figure out what the heck a contingent remainderman was and the life estates, but the practice of real estate is very different from that, but obviously it educates you. Literally, I remember somebody saying, “Hey, we need somebody to handle this particular issue,” and you just dig into the issue and then all of the sudden, you sort become an expert in that particular field and it just kept on growing.
6. Your law firm in Orange County—what do you guys particularly specialize in?
I pretty much do business and real estate exclusively. I used to do a lot of litigation for one particular client and was very successful, but litigation is a young person’s game, and it just wears on you and wears on you and wears on you, and I’ve slowly, but surely weaned my clients that I’m not going to do litigation for them anymore, other than very particularized things.
7. So far in your law career, what are some of, what you would consider some of, your greatest successes or opportunities that you have learned from the most? I read about the Teamsters Union.
Right; it’s just amazing what you do get involved in. I’ve represented one client in class action litigation in San Francisco, so that was intriguing just in terms of the machinations of the procedural battles that went on and on and on and on; and actually, I’m a small operation, but I found that you could operate as well as the big guys, in fact, sometimes a little more mobile. So you know, that’s an interesting look at that venue of the law. That’s something now that I probably would not handle unless really leaned upon by a client. That was fun. The negotiation with the Teamsters Union, yeah, I successfully concluded that. That was also interesting. I’ve done some pro bono and public interest stuff that has been just as interesting, in terms of getting involved in ballot measure fights in terms of wording on ballot measures and whether or not ballot measures violated the one subject rule in the state constitution and stuff like that, so that’s been just as intriguing and just as rewarding.
8. When did you do all that work? Was that while you were at your firm? I also read that you drafted legislation for the federal and state county levels.
Yes, at the federal level, I got involved with drafting legislation and testifying before a joint house senate committee, relative to a very esoteric end of the airport noise and capacity act in grandfathering in provisions of a settlement agreement that had been put in place by the County of Orange in the City of Newport Beach, so I got involved in that, and at the state level, I drafted legislation with regards to library funding and then at the county level, I got involved in a very cantankerous battle which raged for ten years, but I helped draft, with other people, it wasn’t just solely myself, but I came up with the concept and then put I’s and T’s on it. This was what was known as the original Measure A, which dealt with the conversion of the El Toro marine base; the closure and zoning to be compatible as an aviation facility. That was a battle that went on and on for close to 10 years and people in Orange County here are quite familiar with it.
9. How did you get interested in serving your community and dealing with those kinds of issues?
Probably a good portion is sort of how you’re raised. I believe, and I don’t care who you are, everybody has an obligation to the community that they live in. We live in a great country, state, and great city, and I think you owe something back. People before you have fought in one way or another to preserve all these things, and I think that whether or not you’re contributing to a local food bank or deciding that you want to get involved in your local city politics or something. I just think that everybody has an obligation to try to serve their community in one way or another. There are a lot of people out there doing it; nobody gets paid for it, but it’s just sort of an obligation that you feel and, either your probably are raised with that feeling or sense of community or you’re not. I guess I grew up in a household where you look at people who have done a lot before; you owe something back to them, and I just feel that it’s very important to give back to your community. I think that that’s why you therefore, have either a good city or a bad city, and whether or not you have good schools or you don’t have good schools. I just think everybody owes it to themselves and their children to continue to fight that good fight.
10. That eventually led you to you becoming the Mayor of Newport Beach.
Right, I eventually decided to throw my hat in the ring and get on the city council and eventually become mayor, yes.
11. Did you do that at the same time you were still practicing at your firm?
Yes, it’s quite time consuming—it just kills you in terms of…I mean, when I was mayor, I was spending 40 hours a week working, and at the same time, spending another 40 hours doing city business, and unless you’re independently wealthy, it eventually takes its toll. It took a toll in terms of my practice cause people think they have the sense of “Gee wiz, you’re not practicing law anymore; you’re going to be a politician.” Well no, unfortunately I had to continue to work and it’s tough, but it’s just one of those things you do, and you tough it out and say, “Ok fine, I’ve done my civic duty, now I have to go back to trying to make some money.”
12. So what do you think was one of your proudest contributions while you were Mayor of Newport Beach or when you were more active?
Probably one of the best things that I got involved in was the original settlement agreement with John Wayne Airport, City of Newport Beach and the County of Orange. I was in that from day one and I still think that’s something I’m proud of and hopefully people will judge me by that.
13. In the Newport Beach Library, I know you’re involved there.
I’m very active in the library; having stepped out of the electoral process, I got involved with a nonprofit foundation, which is the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, which helps support our city library system—which is ranked in the country number two. We have an incredible library system, and it’s something I’m very proud of as well, and so we continue to raise money, our foundation. We currently have a two-million-dollar endowment, and we continue to raise money every year to fill in the gaps that the city cannot support, and as a result, that’s why we have the top—one of the top—libraries in the country.
14. I’ve also read that you had something to do with an issue that you were fighting against oil drilling in Newport Beach?
Oh right, one of the things when I was mayor, or prior, in conjunction with the City of Huntington Beach and the City of Laguna Beach; I remember Cathleen Blackburn, I believe, was the mayor at the time, we lobbied against offshore drilling because one of the things we found was that it had, we felt that it had a pretty devastating effect on the tourist industry in California, which is a multi-billion dollar industry in California. It’s really one of the largest industries and we felt that it could have impacted us exponentially; so we went back, we talked to the Congress people, and we seemed to have rallied the troops, and I ended up testifying for a house committee on that particular issue; so right now we’re still, I’m not involved in that issue any longer, but yeah, I was involved at the time.
15. As if you’ve not accomplished enough amazing efforts, you embarked on a new type of venture last year when you wrote your book. Tell us what influenced you to write Gin Clear Water?
I guess—that’s a really a long..I don’t want to bore you. Well first of all, I enjoy reading, and I’ve always sort of enjoyed dabbling with writing. Previously, I’ve written on non-fiction subjects in terms of commentaries and stuff like that and on a variety other subjects. The book Gin Clear Water, which is just, if I say so for myself, is just an awesome book. It really dealt with a couple of subjects that really intrigued me. First of all, I’m quite interested in the oceans and marine life, and one of the things that intrigues me even more are the survival of dolphins in the oceans. I love to travel, and I’ve been to the Caribbean a bit, and so I decided I’m going to write a story about dolphins in the Caribbean and tie this into something, so I did. I put together the book Gin Clear Water, and it deals with a young man who travels to the Caribbean and he’s sent there to investigate the decimation of the dolphin population and why, and what he ends up discovering is that there is something more really going on because the dolphin population is in fact being decimated, but it’s sort of going unreported, and the reasons that happens is it gets him involved with some international politics, which are extremely relevant and current, and so it’s his tale of what goes on. It deals with South American— Central American politics. It deals with preservation of our oceans and marine life. I really like the book personally. I’m very prejudice, but people who have read it have just really enjoyed it.
16. I read it myself, and I could see places where it sounded like you drew from your law career and your background in politics, and so I could kind of feel that, and it seems as if you’ve traveled through the Caribbean a few times because you’re so detailed in the way you described it, and that was my favorite part really—how you described the environment and everything that he was going through.
Yeah, it’s funny, people have different things, but I’ve had that in comments that people really felt that they were there. I’ve got some great comments—I’ve had people write me—a letter one women wrote, commenting that she felt like she was sitting— the protagonist in the book, by the name of Philip Grady, whose background is in marine biology—and he ends up meeting a woman and there’s a scene where they’re sitting on a porch and a women wrote me a note said, “You know, I felt like I was actually sitting on the porch in the hot, humid night, sipping a beer, and sitting on the porch rocking in the chair;” so there’re those kind of feelings. One woman wrote a letter and said she felt like it was homage to an Ian Fleming in the Caribbean—cause he wrote a good deal in the Caribbean because he had a home on Jamaica. So you know, that was extremely gratifying. I enjoyed writing it, it was fun. Did the ending surprise you?
17. Not really, I mean, yeah, it did, but it’s just typical corrupt government, so obviously that’s why Jackson got away, but yeah, typical government—that’s how you would expect it to be; but it’s sad. But it was great, I loved it.
People can get it at Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com, or you can go directly to the publisher at Booklocker.com, and you can even download the book if you don’t want to buy a hard copy.
18. So also, as you said, you’re very active in travel, and also Jim’s told me that you’re very active in sports. Can you tell me a little how you enjoy your time outside of your work?
I do love to travel—I’m working on another book, and I went to the Caribbean again this year, well I didn’t just get back, but in May. I was in Jamaica again, and I just returned from Italy a couple of weeks ago, so I love to travel. I’ve done a pretty good amount of biking through Europe and trekking through Europe and Central America. I really enjoy that—you meet interesting people, it forces you to speak the language; I’m not good but I try anyway, and sometimes a little kayaking and white water rafting, and that’s sort of what I like to do.
19. What’s your opinion of finding a balance between work and play, specifically for a lawyer of your caliber?
Well, I think what you have to do, whether or not it’s law or you name the job, I think you first of all have to find something that you enjoy, and do it, and then I think the rest, the balance, will come because then sort of one leads into the other You find something that you like, you find something that you enjoy, and your work life; and it’ll bring to you things in your personal life that will make that part of your life also as great. So I think that’s sort of just my key that you just find something that you like and that it’ll just lead you in the right direction. It’ll make things more pleasant, it’ll make the people around you more pleasant, they’ll find you more pleasant. It’ll just open more and more doors I think.
20. I’ve heard people that love their jobs say, “I’ve never gone to work a day in my life” because they love what they do so much, would you agree with that?
Oh, I mean there’ve been days that you don’t want to go to work, but everybody has those, but yeah, I think that’s right. You just enjoy it—I do know a lot of people who go into a profession for the wrong reason, it’ll eventually come back and kill you or haunt you, so yeah, I think that’s sort of a feeling if it’s a drudgery, then eventually there is going to be some kind of fall out from that, so I think I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard.
21. What kind of advice can you offer to law students who are just now embarking on their careers, maybe specifically in your branch of law, but also in general too.
Well, I think it’s sort of…find an area of law, once if you made the commitment to first go to law school and now you’re out looking for a job—find an area of law that you’re going to be happy to go to work every morning, and do whatever that part of the job you’re going to be doing, and if you know, law also offers many different avenues, you don’t have to practice law; you may decide you want to work for a company. I think you have to find the niche that your most comfortable with because I know a lot of miserable attorneys—all they do is bitch about their job, and they’re unpleasant to be around, and they make other people dislike them; so I think you just have to find your niche that makes going to work pleasant and whether or not it’s working for a company or working for nonprofit or deciding you want to go into the political end or you want to be a legislative analyst or a lobbyist or frankly a business person—I just think you have to use it as a tool and don’t look at it as the end of your life but sort of as a tool. I heard a great comment by a 21st century philosopher, John Stewart, from “The Daily Show,” he delivered a commencement address at William and Mary a couple years ago, and his advice to the graduating class, I really, really think was a good one. He says, “You know, in college, and you can insert grad school and therefore law school…everything, there are requirements. Well you know what, once you’re out of school, there are no more requirements and life now is the rest of your life, and therefore that’s where you should find the joy and happiness in doing something.” The reason I’ve sort of delved into so many different things is the way I look at it is, “Look it folks, this isn’t a dress rehearsal, you might as well enjoy your life,” and as you get older like me, life’s too short, so I just think you’ve got to find something enjoyable, and that would be my advice to anybody coming out of law school, and there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, in having gone to law school, I mean, there are tons of people who have been extremely successful; they just used it. It’s their entrée to do something else, you know, if they decide “I don’t want to practice a lot,” but you’ve got the education, people are going to hire people who are educated or you can start a business or you can get involved in a number of things. So that’s my advice.
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