by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
If it wasn’t for her old boss in Portland, Ore. attorney Barbara Jane League may have never known she had such an appreciation for art.
League grew up in Jacksonville and left Northeast Florida to attend college and law school. Her career has taken her from Charleston, W.Va. to Washington, D.C. and to Portland. League moved back to Jacksonville in 2004 to be closer to her family and to start her own firm.
While in Portland, League became interested in art, but only after she held a get-together for some co-workers one evening and realized they were all concerned about one thing: the bare walls in her office.
“All of my co-workers were asking me, ‘so are you leaving? Should we be looking for someone to take your place?,’” said League. “They were asking me that because I didn’t have anything on my walls and it looked like I was leaving town.”
League had a friend in Portland who was a painter, and since the West Coast is considered “wine country” most of his work included wine and martini glasses.
“I bought a lot of his work and I was really surprised how much I liked it (collecting art),” she said. “That first day I bought seven of his paintings so my co-workers didn’t think I was leaving the firm.”
During school, League disliked all art classes and tried to find a way to take the bare minimum that was required.
“It wasn’t until I was about 30 years old when I realized that I did like art,” said League, who is a business and real estate attorney.
League is the president and managing shareholder for League & Jesperson, P.A. She and partner Gordon Jesperson met at Washington & Lee University School of Law. Little did they know, years after attending law school together they would be in Jacksonville opening their own firm.
“We worked in different law firms in the same building in Portland,” she said. “We were in the same building for four months and never realized it.
“I was ready to start my own firm and he had expressed interest in doing that as well. I told him there was one thing, I wanted to move back to Jacksonville. It took him a while to decide, but he decided to move his family to Jacksonville.”
League & Jesperson is a “boutique transactional firm,” she said. The three main areas of law they practice are business, real estate and estate planning, among others.
Their offices are located in the historic Lampost Building in Avondale, formerly Lampost Antiques. The building has been renovated and League brought her new appreciation of art with her when she moved back to Jacksonville and has been collecting more art for the office and her home since.
Jacksonville artist Susanne Schuenke is a friend of League and her family. League has gotten to know her and really enjoys Schuenke’s work.
“She uses great colors in all of her paintings,” said League. “They have a lot of movement and it is so detailed that every time you look at one of her paintings you see something new.”
League has collected about 25 pieces of art by Schuenke. And, she has started collecting art from other local artists including Kathy Starke.
“Susanne’s ’The Cello Players’ are my favorite,” she said. “That is why it is in front of my desk.”
The art in the office has also provided the firm with a different type of feeling from other law firms.
“We wanted to try and do something a little different,” she said. “We aren’t just here to be good lawyers, but to also make people smile as much as we can while they are here.
“And Susanne’s paintings are providing that. It makes people feel more comfortable and welcome.”
League has also held events and fundraisers at the firm. Last year, she hosted an art fundraiser that included Schuenke’s work for Angelwood, a non-profit organization that provides group homes for developmentally disabled children. League is hoping to host other events at the office in the near future.
League received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Washington & Lee University in 1992 at the age of 20. She stayed at the school and attended the school’s School of Law where she graduated in 1995. Before starting her law career, League came back to Florida for a year to receive her Masters of Law in Taxation at the University of Florida Law School.