Robert Crowell

In June, Carson City attorney Robert Crowell merged the law firm started by his father in 1954 — Crowell, Susich, Tackes & Griffin — with Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw and Ferrario. “We were looking for a way to offer clients a broader scope of representation,” he says of the union with Kummer Kaempfer, which has offices in Reno and Las Vegas. A native Nevadan, Crowell is past president of the State Bar of Nevada, and past president of the Colorado River Commission of Nevada. He is currently president of the Carson City School Board and chairman of the board of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Carson City schools, Stanford University and Hastings College of the Law. Crowell’s government affairs expertise across a wide range of areas — including public utilities, telecommunications and transportation — has earned him a reputation as one of the Capitol’s most respected and effective advocates.

What advice can you give businesses on working successfully with the legislature?

The more sophisticated businesses understand that a lot of their issues can be addressed legislatively. A lot of business interests are discussed at the legislature — gaming issues, relationships with competitors, land development issues — particularly in the commerce committees. I have a frequent saying that a lot of lawyers will litigate and end up in the Supreme Court; the better way to resolve those issues is to solve them in the legislature. That’s the easy way to do it, I think.

How can businesses that are new to the area break into the so-called “good old boy” business networks?

Actually, I think the good old boy culture is probably a dying entity. One of the ways businesses can become ingrained in a community is by making sure their business is plugged into as many community events and organizations as possible. I find that the more you get involved, the more your respect in the community goes up and the more people are willing to trust you with their business.

How can legal expertise help a business with its growth strategy?

One of the first things you want to decide when you start up a business is to find out which is the best legal business framework to use — whether it’s a corporation, an ‘S’ corporation, a small business corporation, a limited liability company, a limited liability partnership or a general partnership. Go through all those so you are on the right foot going down the road. Choose the appropriate business formation model so you don’t make a misstep that is going to stop you from growing or going public.

What’s the most common business formation mistake you see?

Fifty-fifty partnerships routinely end up in court because nobody has the ability to make a decision. What you have to do is have a good formation document that talks about all the issues that come up between business partners. If you can cross all those bridges, then you are about 90 percent on the way to resolving those problems that are going to come up.

What piece of technology could you not live without?

My BlackBerry. What I do in government relations is highly driven by communication transfer, transfer of ideas. These days that’s all done by e-mail. You can be at the legislature — they all have wireless laptops — and you can be sitting in the audience at a panel hearing and talk electronically to a legislator. It’s a fantastic means of communicating.

Think before hitting the “send” button: Tips for businesses on electronic communication