Guest Speaker -  February 7, 2017 - Craig Needham

 
 
Balance is the order of the day - every day -for Craig Needham . Whether it's stabilizing his caseload or weighing the merits of a potential client or steady­ing himself for a steep incline on his fa­vorite mode of transport -his bicycle - Needham always strives to maintain equi­librium in his life.
 
Cycling is perhaps the likeliest of metaphors for balance, so it's not surpris­ing that Needham took to the sport with ease and fervor, although it came rela­tively late in his life. The senior partner  at San Jose-based  Needham  Kepner & Fish has clocked thousands of miles across the United States and Europe on his bike since he started riding in his mid-50s.
 
 
He's also an avid marathon runner and triathlete. And he does it all not only for his own personal fulfillment, but also to raise money for important causes, as he is a cancer survivor himself. "Melanoma," Needham said ."My wife saved my life telling me to go to a doctor and check it out, and I did, and fortu­nately they caught it at Stage  I."
 
Oh, and Needham is a pretty darn good lawyer, too, having logged thou­sands of hours in the courtroom while try­ing more than 50 cases to verdict and winning numerous million-dollar awards for his clients. That part of his life - along with related work such as media­tions and teaching - tips the other side of his scale just enough to keep him con­stantly on an even keel.
 
"Where I'm at now in my life, I take two months off during the year. When I biked across the country for two months, I learned that my life waited for me, my wife still liked me, the firm was doing great, and I had a great time," Needham said during a recent interview at his  San Jose office. "I'll  be  68 in August; I try to limit myself to five to seven large cases a year, plus assist my wonderful partners, Anne (Kep­ner),  Kirsten (Fish) and Jeff Pickard, on about 60 to 70 cases total in the office. And then there are mediations, which I can control my calendar on by simply saying no."