Ryan and Marks is a Mandarin law office that specializes primarily in real estate law, corporate law, wills and probate.
THE STAFF
William Ryan Jr. and Jeffrey Marks are the two partners — and the only lawyers — in the firm. They have seven staff members. “We have one person that’s been with us 20 years,” said Ryan. “She was with us in the old firm, too.”
DO THEY PLAN TO
ADD ATTORNEYS?
“We like the simplicity of the two of us,” said Marks. “We might think about taking in a young lawyer one day when we’re closer to retirement.”
WHY FOCUS ON
REAL ESTATE?
“That’s how we started,” said Ryan. “And it seems to suit us.”
“Our first jobs out of law school were with firms that specialized in real estate law,” added Marks. “We liked it, so we stayed with it for many years.”
WHAT DO THEY
LIKE ABOUT IT?
“Working with people,” said Ryan. “Unlike litigators, we deal with so many people — buyers, sellers, realtors, builders — that aren’t technically clients.”
“Unlike litigation, everybody’s happy at the conclusion of what we do,” added Marks. “There are a lot of parties to deal with in a real estate transaction and often times those people become our friends. Some would be lenders, realtors, builders, surveyors, title insurance and homeowner insurance companies, home inspectors and the pest control people. In our practice we have contact with all these people, so it’s a people-oriented practice. It’s labor intensive and detail-oriented.”
WHAT CHALLENGES
DO THEY FACE?
“Competition form non-lawyers; title insurance companies also do closings,” said Ryan. “A broader aspect of that is that some of your big players, such as those in the realtor or builder market, try to control all of the chain of supply.”
“Another thing is, even though I’ve been practicing 28 years, I still see new title issues from time to time,” said Marks. “Some of those are caused by changes in the law.”
HOW DID THE FIRM
GET STARTED?
“We started Ryan and Marks in 1984 after previously being with Schneider, Dunay, Ryan & Marks,” said Marks. “We’ve been in this location since 1984,” added Ryan.
EDUCATION
Ryan and Marks, both Jacksonville natives, graduated from Stetson Law School and the University of Florida, respectively.
WHY GO TO LAW SCHOOL?
“Probably in part because my father always wanted to go,” said Ryan. “Part of it was that I have more verbal abilities than math skills so anything to do with math or science was not going to be something I would do. A lot of people coming out of college in the 1960s went to law school. It was a general trend.”
“I’m also a verbal-oriented person but I went more for the academic challenge,” said Marks. “Speaking and writing were skills that I liked.”
WHERE ELSE HAVE
THEY PRACTICED?
“Out of law school I went directly to work for Schneider & Dunay,” said Marks. “I taught business law at FCCJ in the 1970s and I taught real estate license law at the ERA school of real estate. Presently, I teach numerous courses at the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, for whom I am general counsel.”
“My first firm was Bryant Dickens,” said Ryan. “I was there from 1972-78. Then I joined the firm that Jeff and I were in, Schneider & Dunay. I taught junior college business law in the 1970s, too.”
WHY SPLIT FROM THE OTHER FIRM?
“We wanted to start our own firm and move to Mandarin,” explained Marks. “And we both live near here,” added Ryan.
“We had been downtown,” said Marks. “He was downtown and I was in Orange Park [at the branch office],” said Ryan.
“We settled on Mandarin because Bill had clientele in Orange Park and I had clientele in Jacksonville, so this was in between,” said Marks. “Because this is a growing area and our practice is in real estate, we do a lot of closings. It was suitable for our practice.”
HOW’S BUSINESS?
“I would say we’ve had steady growth since the beginning but in the last few years, the volume has increased tremendously because of the excellent interest rate market,” said Marks.
“The Northeast Florida real estate market has held well,” added Ryan. “I think we’re one of the better, steady, strong markets in the country right now due to growth and the rates.”
“If you’ve been in the business as long as we have, you get a lot of repeat business,” said Marks. “When you handle closings for people buying, eventually they sell and come back to us, or they may refinance later.”
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF
THE FIRM?
“To do quality work until we don’t work anymore,” said Ryan.
“To continue to make people’s real estate purchases and sales a pleasant and well-handled experience,” added Marks.
WHAT LESSONS HAVE THEY LEARNED OVER THE YEARS?
“To listen to people,” said Marks. “To treat people as your equal, to be honest and courteous, to stay abreast of changes in the law and to treat your employees like family.”
WHAT CIVIC GROUPS DO YOU SUPPORT?
“We’re both real active in charitable work,” said Marks. “Bill was president of Hospice Northeast Florida and connected to various things with the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine.”
Ryan was past president of Harbor House for the developmentally disabled, too.
“I serve on the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission,” said Marks. “I have chaired a Community Mental Health Advisory Board and I am a founding member of the Jacksonville chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association. I am vice president of the Jacksonville Track Club. I served on the Bolles alumni board and served on the board of the Jacksonville Jewish Federation. Currently, I serve on the board of Beth Shalom Synagogue. We’ve always allowed each other the time to do community work. We really believe that’s part of giving back.”
— by Monica Chamness