Jim Parsons, '77: Harnessing the Law for Philanthropy
Before he came to the Law School, Jim Parsons, ’77, was a history major at Denison University. He loved Denison’s academic, cultural, and social life, and he loved studying history.
“In my senior year, I approached one of my professors to explore my interest in becoming a history professor,” Parsons recalled. “His reply to me was: ‘I wouldn’t; it’s a tough job market. Get a degree with more flexible career opportunities, like a law degree.’”
Parsons’s law degree did indeed lead to two satisfying professional experiences: 26 years as a lawyer and law firm leader at Gardner, Carton & Douglas, and 15 years at the helm of a family foundation. Those first 26 years included two parts—the first part as a practicing lawyer, and then 13 years as managing partner. “In the later years, my responsibilities were about 95 percent management,” Parsons said.
His departure from Gardner was prompted by changes in the firm’s management structure and his belief that private practice was evolving in ways he didn’t relish. He also had an itch to do something different, although he wasn’t sure what that would be.
“I had three daughters who would soon be college age, so I initially focused solely on compensation,” Parsons said. “When a career counselor asked me what my passions were, it became clear how much I had liked my service on nonprofit boards.”
Networking led him to a conversation with the investor and philanthropist Gary Brinson, who was looking for someone to lead his family foundation. “Gary and I held a lot of similar views about how a foundation ought to operate. My past nonprofit board service had told me that effective programs know the best ways to generate impact, and that funding relationships are more productive when based on transparency,” Parsons said.
Parsons took on the presidency of The Brinson Foundation, which had nearly 100 grantees, in 2004. “Despite my sense about how foundations should operate, I had no idea what I was getting into,” Parsons said. He interviewed leaders at virtually every organization that the foundation funded and became the program manager for about a third of them.
“What that Denison professor told me proved to be so very true,” he reflected. “I quickly learned that my UChicago legal training was invaluable in every aspect of grantmaking, from due diligence to analyzing problems to understanding the importance of finding public policy solutions to amplify nonprofit work.”
Parsons stepped down from the foundation presidency in 2019 (he remained for two more years as an advisor). “My dad worked until he was in his early seventies, and not long after he retired, his health declined and he wasn’t able to fully enjoy his retirement,” Parsons said. “I wanted to be sure I had time and energy to do things I enjoy.”
Those things have included board service at several nonprofits, remaining engaged with learning by attending programs at the Law School and other organizations around the city, spending time with his daughters and grandchildren, and, earlier this year, getting remarried. He and his youngest daughter are just five ballparks away from their goal of visiting every major-league baseball stadium.
“The seed of my commitment to public service was planted at Denison,” he said, “but it was at the Law School that I learned how to put that commitment into action. I’m grateful to many people for that, including [former admissions director] Dick Badger, [’68], who saw enough potential in me to approve my application; [late Law School professor and dean] Phil Neal, whose Elements course opened my eyes to a new understanding of why I was there; and so many faculty members, classmates, and friends whose positive effects on my life and my work can’t be overstated.”
