Burl M. Finkelstein is an engineer. And a businessman. And a lawyer. And a general counsel. And a rocket scientist. Among other things.

He started out as an engineer with Kason Industries Inc., the Shenandoah, Ga.-based manufacturer most known for making the latches for big walk-in commercial refrigerators. Kason moved him first to Binghamton, N.Y., in 1978, then to its headquarters, near Newnan, in 1980.

Burl M. Finkelstein

As his management responsibilities grew, so did the legal complexity of the business of inventing, patenting and manufacturing the company's various products. He decided it would be useful for him to become a lawyer. So he went to John Marshall Law School in Atlanta at night for four years (not including time preparing for the LSAT and the bar exam) while working full time as a company vice president.

He never expected to become a lawyer, but doing so has helped him solve problems, protect patents and settle disputes in the company's favor. After getting his law degree in 2005, Finkelstein became general counsel. This summer, he was promoted to executive vice president as well.

"Now I spend a lot more time in the plant and tend to get dirty more," Finkelstein said with the youthful enthusiasm of a boy who grew up making things in his father's machine shop.

Here are excerpts of what Finkelstein had to say on a variety of topics:

Hardest thing I ever did: Going to law school and working full time. Other people here said the hardest thing they ever did was putting up with me while I was sleep-deprived.

Day to day concerns: Every day the business requires more and more legal knowledge and involves more and more legal issues and contract issues with vendors. I started working with outside counsel on a number of issues. Some people said, you should be a lawyer. I thought, maybe they're right.

What's ahead: One day, I plan on taking the patent bar. I may sometime retire from here and start a patent practice. But for now, I'm busy in my new role.

On becoming a lawyer later in life: It really gave me a leg up and helped me understand more about what questions to ask. While I was in law school I resolved a contracts dispute we had with one of our vendors. They sued us for breach of contract. When I learned about the law, I realized they had breached the contract, not us. Our outside counsel asked me what I wanted to do. I said, let them depose me. I told them next week we're going to file a counterclaim. Two weeks later, they settled. We actually got them to pay us damages and withdraw their claim.

Greatest strength: Negotiating settlements. It helps being on both sides of it -- legal analysis but also business. The business side changes your priority, it changes what winning the case is about it. You're better off to settle it if both sides can get to a point where they can think clearly about it. That didn't come from law school. It didn't come from engineering school. That came from many years of working with customers. It came from layers of life.

How he met his wife: We met at the tall club — the Atlanta Sky High Club. My wife is 6'3", and I'm 6'5". She was working in IT at Georgia Pacific.

After hours: I got back into rocketry when my daughter was a year old. I had been in the rocket club in high school. One day I found an Estes rocket for a dollar at a garage sale. It was about a foot tall. I thought this would be a nice family activity. I could demonstrate science. I got that rocket, and before I even flew it, I went to a hobby shop and got more complex ones. I sat at home one evening, building rocket kits. Then, I went to a club launch. They talked me into getting certified to fly larger rockets. Now, I'm flying rockets 10 feet tall and up to 100 pounds. They go two miles high. I have federal and state explosive licenses. I fly under an FAA air space waver.

Keeping in shape: I have a universal gym in the house and try to use it three times a week. I try to keep in shape because I'm around a lot of younger people.

Words of wisdom: If there is anything that you really feel you want to do in life, do it. Don't complain about the discomfort or time it takes. If it's something you really want to do and you're really willing to show mindless perseverance to achieve it, you can do it. That's what has enabled me to do something I want to do. Figure out what you want to do, and do it.

Copyright © 2007, Fulton County Daily Report.