Saul Newsome, 34
Attorney, Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson
Saul Newsome’s travels as a Marine, law student and lawyer have taken him all over the world. But since moving to Baton Rouge in 2008 to attend the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, he has focused on his professional law career. He worked with the Cuban government during Gov. John Bel Edwards’ visit to the country, helped start an international practice group at his firm and represented clients at the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Newsome began the Louisiana Alliance to help exchange culture and business with Latin America. He is active with the Friends of the Americas nonprofit organization, which focuses on humanitarian efforts in Honduras, and The Chapel on the Campus. He’s also helping Baton Rouge grow. Since moving here, he has convinced five of his brothers and their families to relocate to the Capital City.
NAME THREE MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
- Represented clients the Supreme Court of Louisiana and all of the Louisiana appellate courts.
- Instrumental in starting the international practice group at Breazeale, Sachse, & Wilson, L.L.P.
- Participating in official bilateral meetings with the government of Cuba during Governor John Bel Edwards and Commissioner Mike Strain’s Trade Mission to Cuba.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS AND INVOLVEMENT
I am an active member at The Chapel, located on LSU’s campus. I volunteer with Friends of the Americas, a Baton Rouge based non-profit that provides aid to Central America. I’ve started the Louisiana Alliance, a consortium of Louisianans aimed at exchanging culture and business with Latin America to strengthen our communities and trade relationship.
NAME ONE BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRED YOU PROFESSIONALLY.
Most recently, Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull.
WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
I wanted to be a U.S. Marine.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB, HOW OLD WERE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?
When I was 13, I got hired to work at a plant nursery for $3 an hour. I learned that growth requires hard work, daily attention and time.
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST JOB YOU’VE EVER HAD?
On my first deployment to Iraq, I was assigned to help train the Iraqi Army. Our meetings usually took place over meals, so much of my work consisted of eating lamb and fish caught in the Euphrates.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH IN BATON ROUGE, AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DISH THERE?
Stroubes. Fried chicken and waffles!
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST FULFILLING MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
While on Commissioner Strain’s July trade mission to Cuba, I met with three different governmental ministries as the face of Louisiana.
WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL “AHA MOMENT”?
The afternoon one of my managing partners, Scott Hensgens, told me that the firm supported my idea to start an international practice group.
WHAT IS YOUR BEST PRODUCTIVITY HACK?
Spend time on the front end training your team so that you can delegate and decisions can be made in your absence. Use technology as much as possible; as technology advances, embrace it and automate.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THE HARD WAY?
Sometimes you have to say no, even to seemingly good opportunities. I’m getting better at this, but sometimes it’s still a problem.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR JOB WOULD SHOCK CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS IF THEY KNEW ABOUT IT?
The amount of work I do that never reaches the timesheet. U.S. regulation and foreign policy is constantly evolving, so I am constantly reading about current affairs and learning about changing laws.
HOW DO YOU TYPICALLY DRESS FOR WORK—CASUAL? PROFESSIONAL? BUSINESS CASUAL? OTHER?
I’m in a suit almost every day—even when there is nothing on my calendar.
WHY PART OF YOUR JOB DO YOU LOVE? WHAT PART DO YOU HATE?
I love strategic planning with clients. I hate billing out time.
WHAT IS THE BEST COMPLIMENT YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN FROM A COLLEAGUE OR BOSS?
A partner whom I admire once said, “I’ve learned never to underestimate Saul.”
MAC OR PC?
I’m an iSheep—but my work uses PC.
ARE YOU ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA? IF SO, ON WHICH PLATFORMS ARE YOU MOST ACTIVE?
I find that Twitter and LinkedIn are most applicable to my field.
HOW MANY TEXTS DO YOU SEND ON AN AVERAGE DAY? HOW MANY EMAILS?
The number of texts is increasing, but emails still dominate.
HOW LOW WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR REMAINING PHONE OR COMPUTER BATTERY LIFE GET IN % BEFORE YOU HAVE AN ANXIETY ATTACK?
Below 20% is pretty scary, but I try to keep it above 50%.
HOW MANY UNREAD MESSAGES ARE IN YOUR INBOX RIGHT NOW?
Zero. I obsessively flag emails for follow up and then mark messages as read.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE APP AT THE MOMENT?
I love Evernote—but Evernote recently created Scannable. It scans business cards, documents, photos, (really anything) and can load it to Evernote, Dropbox, email or even your contacts, all from your phone.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE PAST DECADE?
Siri. I frequently use the voice command (Hey Siri) for easy things like weather, texts, and music.
WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO YOU WISH WAS NEVER INVENTED?
Facebook, it’s so unproductive.
WHAT TIME DO YOU GET UP ON WORKDAY MORNINGS?
5 a.m. I either work out or meet for a bible study group.
BREAKFAST AT HOME? BREAKFAST ON THE GO? BREAKFAST AT YOUR DESK? NO BREAKFAST AT ALL?
Breakfast at home—nearly always.
THE SAYING GOES: “BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.” SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ARE YOU “BEING” TO MAKE BATON ROUGE BETTER?
I’m being “an advocate for our area” in two ways: Bringing talent (mainly my extended family) into the city. Connecting Baton Rouge and Louisiana with Latin America. I think there is a lot of opportunity for trade and greater strategic partnership.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE “GROWN UP”?
During my second deployment, my intelligence team was responsible for collecting threat-indication information for more than 10,000 square miles of battle space, the largest area of responsibility in all of Anbar, Iraq. We were responsible for providing threat reporting for an entire infantry battalion, including nine different military outposts and over 700 service members. All that and I had a mortgage to pay at home. I was 24, but felt like a grown up.
WHAT WAS THE BEST VACATION YOU HAVE EVER TAKEN?
My wife and I took a 10-day trip to Colombia. We visited the old-world port city of Cartagena, the capital Bogotá, and a spent few days in the mountains on a small farm with friends.
WHICH TALENT OR SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE AND WHY?
I wish I could travel anywhere instantaneously. Not only would it save time on business trips, but I could go instantly travel to the beach for a morning run, then travel back home to jump in my shower.
WHAT ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS ABOUT?
I am superstitious when I work out; staying in routine makes me feel confident about my performance.
WHO FASCINATES YOU?
C.S. Lewis. He is my favorite author, and I find all of his thoughts incredibly fascinating.
FAVORITE DRINK?
Black coffee.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BAND OR SONG?
Ryan Adams.
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE?
Probably the late Heath Ledger. I’ve been told we look a lot alike (and he was a great actor).
WHAT SCARED YOU AS A CHILD, AND WHAT SCARES YOU NOW?
Public speaking and public speaking. When I was a kid, my grandmother used to tell my mom to make sure I get water because I was too timid to ask.
PETS?
I have fish—they’re pretty non-committal.
TELL US ABOUT A MOMENT THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE.
On Father’s Day in 2015 my wife Catherine told me she was pregnant. From that moment, everything has changed for the better.
WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG PERSONAL OR CAREER CHALLENGE YOU PLAN TO TAKE ON?
Career: Making partner at my firm. Personal: Recruiting more of my family to move to Baton Rouge. I have seven brothers and two sisters. So far, I recruited five brothers to Baton Rouge and two more might be on the way.
WHAT CONCERNS YOU MOST ABOUT THE FUTURE?
There’s a lot of rhetoric out there that is anti-trade and against globalization. Trade is vital for our state and the economy as a whole; if that sentiment gains momentum, our state could suffer.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST HOPE ABOUT THE FUTURE?
I believe that God is good and that He has a plan for all our lives. That gives me hope.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR FUTURE FORTY UNDER 40 HONOREES?
Our city can only improve if we remain personally committed. Stay and make this city a better place.
DO YOU PLAN TO BE IN THE CAPITAL REGION FIVE YEARS FROM NOW? WHY OR WHY NOT?
Of course, this is my home.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST HOPE FOR BATON ROUGE?
That we continue to make positive strides, developing our poor areas and improving our children’s education system.
