Wham with the right hand! Browns nab lawyer Fred Nance as general counsel

(Photo courtesy Chris Stephens/The Plain Dealer)

By Don Delco
NoLogoNeeded.com Staff Writer

Wait, that was Joe Tait's radio call on Cavs star Larry Nance.

Meanwhile, in other news: Cleveland lawyer Fred Nance has joined the Browns as the team's general legal counsel.

"The naming of Fred Nance as general counsel strengthens our ability to manage any number of matters," said Browns owner Randy Lerner in a released statement. "I've had a strong and productive working relationship with Fred for many years and admire the many and various contributions he's made to the city of Cleveland."

Three years ago, Nance was one of the five finalists to become the next commissioner of the NFL.

"He would make a fabulous commissioner," said Lerner, to the Associated Press in 2006. "He is totally qualified and demonstrated his qualifications when he played such a huge role in bringing the Browns back.

"He's got leadership, tenacity. He's got a love for the kind of impact teams have on the community. He gets it. I think he's a world-class guy."

Nance has been a partner at the law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. for more than 30 years.

In a statement to Crain's Cleveland Business, Squire Sanders chairman James J. Maiwurm said, "We are pleased for both the Browns and our partner Fred Nance. We fully understand why the Browns want to draw on Fred’s experience and judgment, for the firm has done the same thing over the years. Fred has served Squire Sanders in a number of important roles, and we are gratified that he will remain our partner so we and the business community at large will continue to have ready access to him. If we have to share Fred, we are glad it is with a family and organization as important to the Cleveland area as the Lerners and the Browns."

So what will his roll be with the Browns?

Nance talked with the Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi. According to Grossi, Lerner has wanted a general legal counsel and considered Nance for team president before handing the job to Mike Keenan in May of 2008.

"I'm going to have the opportunity to share my thoughts in a variety of ways," Nance said. "The team has many needs right now. It's a very good fit."

Grossi then asked Nance if he'd play a role in helping to reorganize the football operations. Nance said, "Some of the things I'll be giving advice on may be outside the technical aspects of law. I think I can be involved in a broad range of matters. So, we'll see."

Nance added, "I think there are good things to come in Berea."

This is not his first contact with the Browns. In 1995, Nance met with then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on the even of Art Modell's announcement he was moving the team to Baltimore. Nance worked with Tagliabue after the announcement to insure the Browns would one day come back.

In 2003, Nance served as LeBron James' lawyer after James was suspended by the OHSAA for accepting gifts. James season-ending suspension turned into just a few games.

Nance's wife, Jacqueline Jones, heads the LeBron James Family Foundation, an Akron-based group whose missions is to "empower children to be physically fit, academically focused and environmentally aware, and empowers single parent families to succeed children and families in northeast Ohio."

Fred Nance is a powerful, but well-respected man in Cleveland. Now, he takes on one of the city's most beloved component. Whatever Nance's duties will be, Lerner looks to have taken a step in the right direction by bringing in a man like Nance on board.