Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Image by Blakeney Clouse

During his time at The University of Chicago’s prestigious Booth School of Business, Griff O’Rear received high levels of educational opportunity, including learning principles of economic theory from Nobel Prize winners. After graduating with his MBA in econometrics, he was asked to join the school’s Ph.D. program. While he recognized the honor held by that request, academia was not part of his plan. His intent was to follow in the footsteps of his father, Caine O’Rear, Jr., and practice law in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama.

 Griff returned to Alabama to pursue his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. After graduating in 1984, he began practicing alongside his father in their downtown Jasper firm. “Dad had been a lawyer here since 1949, and I had the honor of working with him until he passed in 2003,” Griff says. “He was really my biggest pull to come back to Jasper and one of my biggest inspirations to go into law. Obviously, he’s my father, but he became one of my best friends and biggest mentors in my career.”

 His practice primarily handles business law, property law, and wills and estates. While that may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of an attorney, it is what Griff prefers. “I chose specifically to stay out of personal injury law and divorce law primarily because I have a great interest in the business and property fields, and because what I do pairs well with my prior educational experience,” he says. “I like solving problems and I like helping people, so what I do falls into both of those categories.”

 Much like he had no doubt that moving back to Jasper to practice was the right thing to do, Griff knows that his career choice was the right one for him. After 36 years of practice, he still wakes up each day ready to go to work and serve his community. “I’ve always felt that if you put the right amount of effort into your work and do it well, that builds your happiness and self-esteem, so my career has generally been rewarding to me,” Griff says. “I’ve never considered doing anything over. I can’t complain about how things have happened—not that it has been perfect— but doing what I love, in a place that I love, has been fulfilling.” 78