Palpable wisdom fills hyperspace as soon as we meet John Romano—a treasured monarch and esteemed advocate in civil and criminal law. In The Heart of Law’s second episode, our insightful host, Mirena Umizaj, astutely deconstructs the many ways John juggles life, lawyer-hood, and love. Throughout the deep dive, she interacts with the sage trial attorney and strategically positions us to appreciate John’s richly unassuming paradigmatic worldview.
Less than five minutes into the show, John disarms us with his dynamic admission of never angling to retire, hoping to live well over 115 years old! Interestingly, despite a robust practice consuming his professional life, he juxtaposes it by giving us a glimpse into a vibrantly remarkable homelife. He shares priceless delight in attending PTA meetings, coaching sports teams, sitting through award ceremonies, enjoying numerous kids’ events and snow-capped vacations. John invites us into an idyllic family—proudly talking about his grandchildren and four successful sons, Erik, Todd, Chad, & Ryan, and consistently glowing about Nancy, his bride and “angel” of 51 years. Curiously, how has he managed it all?
One secret to his humble success stems from this axiom: “To me, life ... comes down to one word: Relationships.” His non-condescending, approachable posture in dealing and caring for people (from jurors to judges, witnesses to police officers, doctors to nurses, priests/rabbis to nuns, hotel staff to his associate staff) shatters every ruthless stereotype lawyers tend to snag. On mellow reverb, he emphasizes respect and kindness, continually dovetailing it to real success in life and the legal profession. Almost accidentally, he endears us. With John, our inspiration slowly dawns on us as we realize we have somehow taken our seat in the midst of a contemplative servant-leader.
As Mirena pushes deeper into the conversation with John, we discover hard lessons he learned because of poor investments. He vulnerably describes (for the first time in public) the detrimental financial decision he made in constructing an environmentally state-of-the-art corporate building. He shares his deep regret at how the economic loss negatively impacted his family and practice, contrasting it with the relief he felt at the unconditional support his firm received from people who cared. When she asks how (and where) else he directs his “energy and compassion,” he resolutely responds: “You just go at it with everything you've got!” And sure enough, he does.
If John did rule a kingdom, he lends us a picture of a magnanimous monarchy—rich with opportunities, goodwill, conscience, humility, and service. What a privilege to hear someone like him talk about the richness of life. To say John is a rare soul is an understatement indeed . . . and in deed.
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