Reaching Back to Help Others
“I arrived at law school with an extremely ‘black and white’ mindset,” said A. Richard Vial JD’81, a partner
in Vial Fotheringham LLP in Portland. “I was a cocky Mormon boy who thought he knew everything.”
“In law school, I experienced diversity in thought and learned a great deal from others with different experiences than myself.”
After a few months, however, Vial began to see how narrow his perspective on the world had been. He met law professor and divinity school graduate Carlton Snow, who taught Contracts at Willamette, and the two became fast friends. “He helped me manage the ambivalence that comes as a law student when you realize you don’t know everything, when you realize there are a lot of gray areas in life,” Vial said of his mentor.
A California native, Vial grew up in a small town in southern Oregon and was the first in his family to attend college. Vial initially majored in music at Brigham Young University, but he switched to accounting after a two-year religious mission to Japan. “I studied accounting as a pre-law major,” he said. “My goal all along was to go to law school.”
Vial enrolled in law school at Willamette in 1978. “I knew I wanted to practice real estate law in Oregon, so it made sense that I would attend law school here,” said Vial, who had worked as a real estate agent in college to support his wife, Paula, and their growing family. During law school, Vial had the opportunity to clerk in the condominium section of the Oregon Department of Real Estate. The clerkship introduced him to the concept of homeowner associations, which is now his specialty.
Following law school, Vial worked for the public accounting firm of Touche Ross in Salem. He then joined the firm of McLaughlin, Gunnar, Woods & Wilcox, where he specialized in real estate law. After five years with the firm, Vial established Meyer, O’Malley and Vial with two partners. In 1991, he started a solo practice, Vial and Assoc. PC. Now Vial Fotheringham LLP, the firm employs 15 lawyers and has offices in Portland and Salt Lake City. Approximately 90 percent of his practice is in condos and planned developments. Most of his cases are construction related.
“Every day I get to contemplate the issues of community in these varied mini-municipalities,” he said. “Whether it is assisting with a difficult meeting or pursuing claims related to defective construction, balancing the common good with the rights of the individual is fascinating.”
Despite his many professional accomplishments, Vial considers his greatest success seeing his grandchildren, laughing and happy. The Vials have six birth children, seven adopted Vietnamese children and 22 grandchildren. “I’ve been blessed beyond any dreams I had,” Vial said. “And I feel a responsibility to use that wisely for our family, our neighbors and the world.”
Vial and his wife solidified that connection last year when they created The Vial Family Scholarship Fund for law students, preferably those from their alma mater, Brigham Young University. “I had a sheltered Mormon upbringing that was helped tremendously by my coming to Willamette,” said Vial, a former bishop of his local ward who remains active in and deeply committed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “In law school, I experienced diversity in thought and learned a great deal from others with different experiences than myself.
“An education from BYU, combined with one from Willamette, will allow students to gain new perspectives in a way that is truly powerful,” he said. “BYU was a great place to get grounded, and Willamette was a great place to find wings.”