Frederick R. Nance

2009 Honoree

As one of Ohio’s most influential attorneys, Frederick R. Nance negotiates contracts for major athletes and celebrities while also championing projects that benefit Cleveland, his hometown.

Nance, regional managing partner in the global law firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P, owes his success to "unassailable" hard work. An equally important ingredient is his ability to develop and nurture interpersonal relationships.

"If you are working hard and doing high-quality work, you will find success," he says.

Such tenets have enabled Nance to negotiate agreements with the National Football League to return the Cleveland Browns to Cleveland, and to fund a new $300 million stadium where the team’s home games take place. He also represents LeBron James, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Nance is pragmatic about his work with high-powered clients, saying, "It’s important to understand the interpersonal relationship and how you manage it. With clients, you make yourself user friendly … never take advantage of that access."

Running track as a youth helped Nance acquire the discipline and stamina he later would need for the long hours required for a law career.

However, many of his negotiating skills were learned from his father, who was a representative for the United Auto Workers.

"From the time I was a pre-teen, I understood the rules of the game," says Nance, who earned his B.A. degree from Harvard and his law degree from the University of Michigan.

After law school, Nance began working with Squire Sanders, becoming a partner in 1987. From 1991 to 2001, he was the primary outside counsel to the City of Cleveland. In 2006, he was a finalist to become commissioner of the National Football League.

Nance is a member of the Executive Committees of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Ohio Business Roundtable, and the 50 Club of Cleveland. He also is a trustee for the Cleveland Art Museum, the Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland Foundation, and serves on the board of directors of RPM International. Nance also is former chairman of the Cleveland Defense Industry Alliance, and during his 2004-2005 tenure, helped save 1,100 U.S. Department of Defense jobs that were scheduled to be cut.

Nance has received numerous awards, including Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Public Service Award, and the Northeast Ohio Regional Leadership Task Forces’ Regional Vision Award.