Lunch with a Leader
Andrew Glincher ’80: Adapting to change
In February, students had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Glincher ’80, CEO and managing partner of Nixon Peabody. Glincher leads 1,500 employees, including more than 650 attorneys who collaborate across the U.S. and with alliance firms around the world. Before taking his current role at Nixon Peabody, Glincher served as managing partner of the firm’s Boston office and as a professor of real estate finance at Boston College for 23 years.
At the lunch, held in the Fulton Honors Library, Glincher told stories about his career journey and the lessons he has learned along the way. In a time when so many careers seem to follow a strictly specified path, Glincher reminded students that many careers take unorthodox paths, and that you can mold your career into anything if you are open to change. He, for example, was able to combine his love for both law and business into a career.
In his current role, Glincher attracts and retains talent and clients, work that he feels strongly is best accomplished by fostering communication, passion, and trust, he told students. He said he views communication as the most important skill one should have, regardless of career path, especially the ability to communicate across generations and cultures. Glincher stressed the importance of listening. When considering whether to work for or do business with an organization, he advised, arrive 15 minutes early for a meeting. One can learn a lot about that organization by sitting in the front office and listening, observing the culture and how people relate to each other.
Organizational culture is critical to Glincher—he is proud that Nixon Peabody has a culture that retains talent for decades, and he constantly strives to enrich that culture through diversity and inclusion. He was especially excited about his initiative to promote younger and less-experienced talent to leadership roles earlier in their careers, a practice that is highly unusual in his industry.
This was just one of many examples Glincher cited regarding his work to make Nixon Peabody the law firm of the future. He believes that he can deliver the best results for clients and talent alike by fostering an environment that encourages creativity and new ideas about ways to play to the firm’s strengths. Like most other professions, law is changing as a result of technology, and Glincher is sure lawyers will not be operating the same way in five years. He wants to poise his company for agility, and to ensure that its people love their work and that clients are satisfied.
Caitlan Griffith '20, Winston undergraduate assistant