By Alidad Vakili

For this issue of San Diego Lawyer, I spoke with Robert Bello, General Counsel for Hughes Marino, a commercial real estate firm that specializes in tenant and buyer representation. Besides his friendliness, easy-going personality, and upbeat nature, what struck me most about Rob was the importance he places on core values — ten core values in particular, which are the core values espoused by Hughes Marino. 

The focus Rob placed on these values was inspiring, so I decided to list them:

1. Always do the right thing.
2. Deliver excellence in everything we do.
3. Enjoy the journey.
4. Embrace the family spirit.
5. Build lasting relationships based on trust.
6. Nurture your personal and professional life.
7. Pursue growth and learning.
8. Generously give to others.
9. Proactively communicate with everyone.
10. Be authentic, grateful, and humble.

These core values are an important part of who Rob is, and his emphasis on them and how they have shaped his career are easy to see from speaking with him. If there was an eleventh value, it might be to baseball.

Rob is a consummate baseball fan and played professional baseball in Italy. Although Rob was born in Chicago, his family roots trace back to Bari, a city in the southeast part of Italy. Italy also holds a special place in Rob’s heart, because he met his wife, Erin, there while she was working abroad and he was playing baseball. Erin is the reason Rob eventually moved to San Diego, where they attended law school together.

How did you find your way to your current position?

My brother-in-law is an attorney and real estate broker in Hughes Marino’s Orange County office (he was previously in San Diego). As a result of his working here, I got a chance to come to several events, where I met all the amazing team members and the owners. From attending events, I also developed a deep appreciation of the company’s culture, vitality, and bright future. In fact, I always left the events inspired to create or find a similar setting in my own career. When the opening presented itself, my name came up as a possible fit. When they called me and we met, it was a match on many aspects: expertise, skill level, culture, personality, etc.

What is something that drives you?

Hughes Marino’s core values deeply resonate with and are the same values that really drive me. That was one of the things that made Hughes Marino so appealing. Our leading core value is “Always do the right thing,” which is what I have hanging on my wall and is something I look at every day. It is pretty cool to work for a company that has identified these core values and stands by them every day.

For example, we always lead off every team meeting with a review of/discussion about the core values. This is a deep commitment. When you meet Hughes Marino team members you get a sense of that. That was why Hughes Marino was such a good fit for me.

What would you say is one of the biggest challenges you deal with as in-house counsel?

Like almost all in-house counsel, the biggest challenge is trying to balance all the competing needs and demands on my time. Being in-house you need to be more of a generalist, more so than being in private practice. I have also had to broaden my knowledge base, which has been both challenging and exciting.

What do you believe is important for outside counsel to know about your job to better enable them to serve your needs?

When we utilize outside counsel, it will usually be for their expertise in a specific subject area or due to a bandwidth issue. I may not have the time to focus on a particular issue. IP is a good example. For IP, we turn to outside counsel for those issues.

What advice do you have for young lawyers who are interested in working in-house?

I think one of my favorite quotes is quite appropriate: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” Prepare yourself by developing a strong base in subject areas you think will cross over, such as employment law. For example, almost every company will have a need for someone with knowledge about employment law.

Then, it depends on the industry. For us, having experience in real estate and contract law is very beneficial. The majority of work I performed prior to moving in-house involved litigation. Litigation experience teaches you how to write and speak effectively, interact well with other people, negotiate, and evaluate people and scenarios. It can also teach you about what not to do or how to do it better since a lot of litigation flows out of a broken relationship (business, real estate, employment, etc.)

And, the other thing is to continue to network with people and build your relationships. Interact with people in the area or type of business you would like to go in-house in. Finally, and most importantly, you need to have some luck by being in the right place when that opportunity intersects with your preparation.

Life Notes:

Number of years in practice: 6 years
Undergrad: Northwestern University, 2002 (B.A., Economics and Political Science)
Law school: Thomas Jefferson School of Law, magna cum laude, 2009.
Business school: San Diego State University, 2009.
Favorite quote: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
Hobbies: Playing competitive baseball, enjoying San Diego’s beaches, eating Italian food, and spending time with my wife and two young children.

Quick Facts:

Company: Hughes Marino is San Diego’s largest commercial real estate firm that exclusively represents tenants and buyers – never landlords. Hughes Marino specializes in tenant representation, and also offers construction management, lease audit and lease administration services from offices in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Awards:

San Diego’s Best Commercial Real Estate Company for 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 (U-T San Diego); San Diego’s Best Places to Work for 2012, 2013, and 2014 (San Diego Business Journal); and San Diego’s Most Admired Companies for 2012, 2013 (SD Metro Magazine), to name a few.

Alidad Vakili is the Editor of the San Diego Lawyer and a corporate attorney with K&L Gates LLP. He can be reached at alidad.vakili@klgates.com.

This article originally appeared in San Diego Lawyer Magazine.