Heather Reynolds is an associate with Richard G. Hathaway law firm and general manager of Ponte Vedra Title in Ponte Vedra Beach.
HOW DOES SHE WORK FOR BOTH?
Richard G. Hathaway has a law firm which she is a part of and they manage Ponte Vedra Title together. “We have the real estate law firm and a title company to handle closings and any other issues that come up with titles.”
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
She practices real estate law and oversees the day- to-day activities of the title company. “We do a lot of different things. We work with Realtors on processing their files and answer legal questions on their future clients. We work with developers from doing the titles to the closings. We take everyone from point one all the way to the end. We do more than just titles and refinancing; we can help with a lot of their legal issues.”
HOW DID SHE
GET THE JOB?
She was working as an office manager with Re/Max Coastal Real Estate and met Hathaway through her work there. She started attending law school and went part-time at Re/Max. Halfway through law school, she spent a summer abroad studying international law. She then did an internship with Justice Peggy Quince of the Florida Supreme Court and went to work part-time with Hathaway while interning. When her internship ended a year ago, she started with the law firm full-time.
HOW did A REAL ESTATE COMPANY FIRST HELP YOU ?
“It’s helpful because I’ve seen closings and real estate from their side of the fence so I understand all the trials and tribulations that real estate agents go through. So, we try and help them at the closing table in any way that we can.”
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
“I very much enjoy working with Hathaway. Not only is he a great attorney, but a great teacher, so I’m very lucky. I love working with all the different people all the time. When I worked at the Supreme Court it was a good experience, but I sat in a room with a computer all day doing very academic work and I knew that wasn’t for me.”
COLLEGE
She has two bachelor’s degrees, one in business and one in anthropology, from the College of Charleston. She earned her law degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law. “I had the opportunity to go to quite a few schools, but I decided I didn’t want to leave Jacksonville. Staying here was one of the best decisions I ever made because the caliber of students that Florida Coastal School of Law has are the same as I would get anywhere and the bar scores show it. They have a good thing going over there.”
BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
She was a project manager for a large manufacturer of large industrial equipment in Charleston, S.C., her hometown. “I started there when I was 15 and when I was 18, they made me a project manager. I was out in the field directing crane operators and installers. It was an interesting way to be introduced to the world being 18 years old and having to show up on the job site. I got many different reactions.”
WHY DID SHE MOVE TO JACKSONVILLE?
“Business was slowing down and since I had been working there since I was 15, I decided I needed something different. I had some friends here, so I came for a visit and happened to stop into Re/Max to apply for a job. They were so wonderful and I was thrilled about the position, so I decided to just do it and I moved here.”
HARDEST PART
OF HER JOB?
“The few times when I can’t make someone absolutely perfectly happy. I hate that. We work so hard to be proactive and take care of all the problems before they happen, but no matter what business you are in you will have some complications here and there. We eventually always get them resolved, but it’s those times when I feel someone has been put out that I feel awful.”
BIRTHPLACE
Morgantown, W.Va. Her family moved a lot
and finally settled in Charleston, S.C. which is why she considers that her hometown.
WHY GO TO LAW SCHOOL?
She always knew that she would. Her father was an attorney and she was always fascinated with the law.
FAMILY
She lives in Jacksonville Beach with her fiancé, Christopher Cumberland, who is also in law school, and their dog, CK. She and Cumberland are getting married in March.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING?
Anything to do with music. She enjoys playing piano, singing on her karaoke machine and going to see musical shows. She also loves to read.
FAMOUS CLIENTS
She recently handled the refinancing for two members of the rock band Arrowsmith.
FAVORITES
She cites her favorite movie as the original “Star Wars.” A book she read recently and would recommend is “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr. She is fascinated with forensic science, so she cites “New Detectives” on the Discovery Channel as her favorite show. She recently got the computer game of C.S.I. and has fun using all the crime technology to solve crimes while playing the game. Her favorite place to visit is Charleston, S.C., and her favorite restaurant is Dolphin Depot.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis