Lawyer sails into new job at Tivoli Properties

IF THERE IS A MOLD for in-house lawyers, Kurt A. Raulin-the new general counsel for Atlanta-based real estate developer Tivoli Properties Inc.-probably doesn’t fit it. Between college and law school, he managed political campaigns for Congressional candidates-and doubled as press secretary. After he graduated from law school at age 32, he decided he didn’t know enough to practice, so he immediately got an LL.M. in real estate development at the University of Miami. After that, he went to work at Atlanta’s Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin, where a partner told him he had “way too much personality to be a transactional attorney.” Then he became a general counsel in South Florida’s booming real estate development business. When the market began to cool off there, he lined up a new job in Atlanta. But first, he took a month off and went back to school again-this time for sailing.

“I had a real need for some time off-and a need to attend an advanced sailing school in Newport, Rhode Island. You can never improve your blue water sailing skills too much,” said Raulin. “We paid several thousand dollars for the privilege of being deckhands-and also of learning more about how to handle 45- to 55-foot sailboats.”