The late Gen. Colin Powell once said, “great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

For San Francisco-based Goldberg Segalla partner Jimmy Ly, who also serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Powell’s words make up the very essence of how Jimmy approaches his work as a member of the firm’s Retail and Hospitality practice group.

“My approach to client service is born out of my experience and training as a military officer, which is to ‘keep it simple,’” he said. “When you overcomplicate things, it makes it harder for everyone. When you distill things down to its simplest form possible, it makes the problem much more manageable and creates a clear path toward resolution and the strategy that needs to be developed.

“When we are forthright about the pros, the cons, the benefits and the problems – and when you’re able to apprise the clients from the very beginning based on the information available to you at the time – it creates a scenario where clients can have a lot of confidence when they talk to you knowing that you’ll be prepared.”

Something else Colin Powell – who knew a thing or two about leadership – said: “Leadership is about solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stop leading them.”

For Shane Hoover, another partner in Goldberg Segalla’s San Francisco office and a Command Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, Powell’s statement has served as a guiding principle in both his military and legal career.

“There were times where I thought, it might be time to retire” from military service, said Shane, an Army Reservist since 1999. “And then I realized that as I kept moving up the ranks as a leader, I had more and more soldiers I was taking care of and that has really been my motivation in continuing to serve. My driving force is taking care of soldiers, making sure they know that if they need anything, they can always reach out to me, even if they change units or even after they get out of the service. My approach in the military as a leader is just getting to know people. And I take that mentality with me in handling my clients. You have to take the time to get to know people and get them to trust you.”

This Veterans Day, Goldberg Segalla is proud to honor Shane and Jimmy for their service, as well as all the firm’s attorneys and staff who have served, past and present, in our nation’s military. We are grateful for their selflessness in serving our nation to protect the freedoms we hold so dear.

Though their paths were somewhat different, Shane and Jimmy’s shared commitment to serving others – whether as members of the military or as attorneys – is inspiring. Shane began his military service more than 25 years ago and has never stopped. Jimmy, who entered the service in his teens, took a decade-and-a-half break from the military before returning at an age when most troops leave.

Shane’s military career has been as wide ranging as it is interesting. He initially joined the National Guard to pay for college, thinking he would then go active duty. But after meeting his wife, he decided to continue his service in the Army Reserve.

“I’ve jumped around everywhere. When I was in the National Guard, I started out in an infantry unit, and I was doing radio telephone operations. Then I switched and got infantry training and then joined a JAG unit and became a military paralegal. I just kept working my way up the ranks. I have made it as high as I can get in my military career and I’ve become a Command Sergeant Major, overseeing a battalion and making sure that soldiers are taken care of underneath me, that they’re being trained properly, that they meet fitness standards and everything like that so if anything happens, we can deploy at a moment’s notice.”

Jimmy joined the California National Guard when he was 17. Already interested in a career in law, he was told by a recruiter the military had opportunities for paralegals.

“I said, ‘Sign me up.’ So, I went off to boot camp, came back as a paralegal, newly minted and quickly assigned to a field artillery battalion where I did, amusingly, 5-percent paralegal and 95-percent field artillery,” Jimmy recalled, laughing.

His graduation from law school coincided with the end of his initial military commitment. He then took a 16-year break from the Army, going to work as a litigator and building his practice. Feeling “sufficiently comfortable” in his career, Jimmy – despite being in his 40s – then decided to pursue his long-held interest in becoming a Judge Advocate in the military. So, he applied for a waiver, went through officer basic training and Judge Advocate training and now serves as a defense counsel with the United States Army Trial Defense Service providing defense to soldiers who are accused of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“I really enjoy being a military officer so I can help people succeed, help people when they need guidance, when they need resources, and when they need support. I really enjoy helping soldiers be their best,” Jimmy said. “As a Judge Advocate, I get to practice law in the military. Military law is extremely diverse, more diverse than any other area of law that I’ve ever seen. And within that very diverse field of military law, you get to do all kinds of things. Everything from national security law to procurement and acquisitions to things like what I do now.”

Both Shane and Jimmy said their military service has positively impacted their career as litigators.

“It’s really been an honor to serve,” said Shane. “I believe it’s made me more disciplined and willing to face challenges head on and kind of storm that proverbial hill and just get through whatever it is I need to get it done. The military trains you to go forward. A lot of times, things fall apart and you have to change your plans and make sure that you still accomplish the mission. That happens in the practice of law” too.

Jimmy said his military service is a way to give back and personally thank our country.

“My family and I are very patriotic. We immigrated to this country after the Vietnam War, where my father served as a civilian support to the United States Navy. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to come to this country and to thrive as a result. My military service is my way to give back to what this country has given us and myself personally, which is the opportunity to grow and to excel and to find happiness and success within a free society,” he said. “Also, it means a lot to me because I get to work with people like Shane Hoover, who is representative of the soldiers that I serve. They are amazing people. They’re dedicated to their work, and they will give 100 percent to any task that you assign to them. That’s the kind of people that I work with and am proud to serve with.”

“What I bring from the military to my practice as a civilian litigator is many of the principles and doctrines that are very common and well established in the military,” Jimmy added. “I try to treat everybody with the utmost professionalism and respect. That’s number one. I try to be an individual that represents my organization in the most positive and professional light. I also try to very much treat opposing counsel with dignity, respect and deference when it’s appropriate, because I truly believe that, especially in litigation, you can always become aggressive later on if necessary, but I find that many times approaching opposing counsel in a positive way tends to result in benefits for everyone involved, especially our clients.”

In the end, it’s about leading by example.

“Just knowing that I’m able to contribute to the team and make a difference,” Shane said when asked what motivates him. “And hopefully, I’m able to help others see that they can keep pushing and make a difference as well.”

“I take a lot of pride in my work and that also derives from the military,” said Jimmy. “If you maintain that pride in your work, in your work product, and where possible, the results that you obtain, then that reflects well upon you and gives you a sense of purpose and direction when things get tough. So, to care about the mission, that’s what we say in military and that’s what I take to Goldberg Segalla.”