Photos: ALM/Shutterstock.com

Second-career lawyers in Big Law are relatively easy to come by. But former professional defensive backs in the National Football League? Not so much.

Meet Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson's Vincent Fuller: Not only did he play in the NFL for seven seasons, but his three younger brothers are also NFL pros, including one, Kendall, who helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory earlier this month. 

Fuller, an associate for Fried Frank since 2017 and a currently a resident in the firm's D.C. office, took the field for the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions during his NFL days, as well as signing briefly with the New England Patriots. Before pivoting to law he had over 160 career tackles, picked off six passes and scored four touchdowns.

Leading up to his team's victory over the 49ers this month in Miami, his younger brother Kendall played in 13 games for K.C. this year with six starts, including the AFC Championship Game against his brother's former team, the Titans. 

The American Lawyer caught up with the proud older brother and corporate attorney to see how he and his brother celebrated after the game, what brings success in both football and the law, and whether or not K.C. can repeat. 

Vincent Fuller Vincent Fuller, Fried Frank. (Courtesy photo)

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Yours was not the typical post-playing career path. How did you end up deciding to become an attorney? 

I played football from 2005 to 2011. Going into the 2010 year, there was a lot of talk about a lockout because of the collective bargaining agreement the owners opted out of in 2008. During the lockout that happened over the 2010 off-season, I wasn't happy about the level of involvement that I had. I decided at that point in time if there was any negotiation happening that involved my livelihood, I wanted to have the negotiation skills to have a seat at the table. 

Your youngest brother just won a Super Bowl title with the Chiefs. How did you celebrate?  

We didn't do anything too heavy. We went to dinner to celebrate, and the Chiefs had a post-game party at the hotel. Those of us who were up had a good time with that. 

Are there skills in common between the NFL and Big Law? 

There are tons of transferable skills. A primary one is attention to detail. When drafting an agreement or trying to spot issues, you have to pay attention to detail in order to understand your clients' needs. On the football field, there are a lot of tendencies that offensive players have, little details. Knowing what a team likes to do at a specific time or distance. And playing within a team. I think that is one of the big things that Fried Frank offers, being part of a team. It is your job to be the best that you can be to help the other members of the team. Our team here is trying to provide a service to a client, and the more responsive you are the better. 

What sort of advice do your coworkers ask of you when they find out you were a professional athlete? 

They are aware that football is both mentally and physically taxing. A lot of people ask me how I dealt with the stress level. I tell them to be prepared as possible. Whether it's a phone call with a client or drafting an agreement, the more prepared you are the less stressful it is.

Will the Chiefs be able to pull this off next year? 

Whether or not they repeat, they have a good base. They'll be competitive. 

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