Raul Tito Maxelmo Estrella, Toby to those who know him, likens life to a spiral staircase. In his analogy, essentially you are in the same place and you experience the same problems, you meet the same type of people, you handle the same challenges, but at each turn of the spiral, you are at that next level of maturity and experience. As life evolves and revolves, hopefully you have learned more, can give more, and be more patient and understanding as you go through the same experiences. You learn, elevate and evolve to meet the next challenges.

Toby recognizes that the lifeblood of any organization is its people. Because of this, he feels his role is to pass the wisdom of his experience on to the next generation of lawyers in his firm; to accompany them on their journey with the hope it becomes his journey and then their journey together. Toby is in a unique situation in that he provides a link between the older partners and the younger partners and the associates. “For the younger partners, they can afford to call me Toby because they’ve seen me as a Senior Associate, but they could not casually treat Raul or Dimples like that. I don’t expect people to use me as their go-between but they do confide in me and know that I can make decisions on their behalf. I’m an enabler.”

Toby is confident, articulate and incredibly insightful when discussing the firm and his role in it and its culture. He speaks with an air of experience of being there and having done that. It was not necessarily the case more than 15 years ago when Raul bore his heart to him. Toby’s situation in the previous firm was on an upward trajectory. He explains, “When 2005 started, in our family prayer I prayed, ‘Lord, bless my career.’ When it was announced in July of that year, that in January 2006, I would become a junior partner, for me, that was already a tremendous blessing. Now you’re telling me I’ll have my own firm come 2006.”

The initial surprise for him in this opportunity was that he was even considered and would essentially be the first to know of Raul’s plan. As it was laid out, Raul’s plan was for Toby to head Labor, Dimples to head Litigation, and for himself to handle Corporate. That Toby was considered should not have been all too surprising as he was to be promoted to a junior partner in only five to six years of experience. Raul knew of Toby’s work ethic since they worked closely on many of his projects involving litigation and labor but he did not really go out with him regularly. Toby and Raul were just starting out with their young families and from 1999 to 2006, would spend long hours in the office together on common projects.

“We were both struggling as young lawyers. When we went out, we didn’t talk about fashion or food, we would talk about family concerns. That’s what brought us together,” he shares. Another similarity was Toby’s aversion to playing the office politics games. “I think because I wasn’t into office politics we got along. I would go into the office and work long hours. I kept my head down. What I appreciate about Raul is when we were talking to clients, I didn’t hear Raul say bad things about his partners.”

Toby said that Raul laid it all out for him, “He mentioned he knew how I worked and he knew how loyal I can become. He knew my discipline and my maturity. Also, he knew the people we wanted to come from labor would follow me.”

Being the sensible lawyer he is, the immediate question Toby had was “Why?” He asked, “Is this about money? What is happening?” He says that to Raul’s credit, Raul would always say it was a career move, and no matter the issues he had, he would not say anything bad about anyone. Raul’s professionalism in the face of his personal struggles was admirable. It gave Toby confidence he could work with and trust him. In addition to the trust he felt, the fact that he knew many of the clients coming to the new firm were either Raul’s clients or clients Raul was working for, this solidified Toby’s decision. “That was why,” Toby explains, “when we started in January 2006, by June, we were already able to make the launch because the expected number of retainers skyrocketed. Suddenly we were really in business. When you hear clients say they will follow you, when other lawyers say they will join you, and opportunities open up, then you realize that your decision is affirmed.”

The initial insights into his role in the new firm were not always obvious. As Toby believes, it takes experience to learn and evolve. Remember, his last position was going to be Junior partner, he had not reached that level prior to this opportunity being only a Senior Associate. He had to learn how to be a partner, a name partner and co-equal to both Raul and Dimples and a boss to others. It was a daunting task but over the next decade and a half, with every turn of the spiral, Toby learned how to be a partner, a boss, a confidante, an advocate and mentor. He often tells the lawyers he mentors, “It was a process of embracing the decision. It didn’t happen overnight. Take your time. You see us only now with our apparent blessings, but we went through the whole experience. Good work coupled with perseverance, not being too ambitious. There’s no formula for quick success. It’s about perspective. I look at those early years and see those were times for personal sacrifices and investment, and now, we are simply reaping the rewards.”

Toby believes that everything is a process. He acknowledges that everything was not laid out for him but he knows that there was so much grace and blessing in these things. Toby’s strength in his faith allows the comfort of feeling accompanied and the sense that greater powers are at work. “You have to look at these things beyond yourself. Every day I have this sense of appreciation, gratitude. For me and Tess (his wife), we desire a simple life and want a simple lifestyle. Anything beyond that, we consider as a blessing.”

Fifteen years into this venture, Toby looks towards the future and the next turns of the staircase. His wealth of experience has gained him further insight and has allowed him to step back to look at the steps ahead. “My role in the office is to ensure succession planning. Raul and Dimples are at a stage where they are involved in other things. The next managing partner doesn’t have to be me and I’ve been telling the other more senior partners to be ready. Trying to keep the legacy alive, we have to grow, develop and put people in the position to succeed.”

When asked about the culture and legacy he wants to extend beyond himself and his fellow name partners, Toby names three characteristics of the firm’s culture:

Professionalism. The firm has a strong reputation of meeting the requirements of clients and excelling at that. This culture is anchored in the members of the firm.

Family-like atmosphere. Legal, non-legal and support staff will all tell you that they pay attention to and care for one another. More than giving livelihood, as a family they care for one another, and in some cases, even bend backwards to assist and help.

Joyfulness. The sense of being pleasant and delightful despite the stress and daily grind. There’s a pervading consciousness in GSE to make the workplace more enjoyable and fun. People share their blessings and show their appreciation. Salary isn’t the only incentive for working in GSE, it’s also the meaningful relationships. You can draw a straight line from that mentality and culture to their attrition rate which, by comparison is relatively low. “People tend to stay because, I would say, there’s a higher level of satisfaction in the workplace.”

The characteristics of professionalism, a family-like atmosphere and joyfulness on top of their firm standard of integrity, commitment and excellence gives GSE its identity. Of course, that is not to ignore the challenges in the workplace. Toby explains, “People may have left with discontent or resentment, but the way I look at it, when you join an organization, it is important you enjoy and find satisfaction in your work because your workplace is literally your second family. The last thing you want is to drag yourself to the office with so many burdens, so much anxiety. That wouldn’t work.” Toby admits that sometimes Raul gets emotional when people leave because he really invests in relationships. “I tell him that’s part of the work process. We cannot compel everyone to like what we have; it’s for them to discover. And if they do decide to invest with us, then it is their turn to make the relationship, environment, and culture evolve. The environment in GSE 15 years from now is not ours.”

Toby believes that as they hit their 15th year milestone, he foresees GSE at a crossroads. “The next five years will be critical,” he says. “In the coming years, while I don’t see Raul and Dimples retiring, there’s this expectation, a perception, that when you reach that ‘dual citizenship’ level, you’re supposed to slow down. I’m excited what the next five years will hold for us.” And so, Toby continues to beat the drum of succession planning. “You have to cultivate the next torchbearers. Five years is too short. We’ve built it and we have allowed it to grow. Then next phase is how do we transition it? If you’re someone connected to GSE, legal or non- legal, I hope people will say, ‘Yes, he’s part of a good, professional, and efficient organization.’ We may not be the biggest or the wealthiest. It’s about that reputation and the good name. It’s not simply about being well known or popular. I want our people to be happy and proud to say where they are working.”

“You can only speak of succession planning when you have achieved a certain level of success in terms of the practice of your profession, the growth of your people, the way we provide benefits, the way we help people.” In essence, you can only have succession, if you have already achieved a level of success.

Toby elucidates, “It’s about passing on the whole experience, the legacy of other individuals who have come and gone and those who are still with us and passing it on to the new leaders, the associates, the partners and even to the clients.”

Now with the success of the past still burning and the glow of present providing a path, there is an effort to secure their future. Admittedly, Toby is surprised he made it this far. There have been many opportunities for financial reward elsewhere but he points to his relationship with Raul and Dimples as the reason he stayed this long. “We may not see eye to eye on everything, and actually disagree about many things, but our relationship is founded on respect. I have asked myself, ‘Would I allow myself to be treated as an employee or would I like to be treated as an equal in a partnership?’” The answer has, more often than not, been in the latter. It has not always been easy, it has not always been fun but the people, the respect and the family help you endure. Work will put food on the table, but the people make it worthwhile. When you find that, the next turn of that spiral brings you higher faster. ■ Earl Custodio