The incredible, charismatic and close relationships Adam Baugh witnessed during his legal internship at the Phoenix offices of then-Mayor Phil Gordon convinced Baugh to pursue the legal world of zoning and land use.
But after Baugh graduated, he took a job as an immigration attorney working on corporate migration cases. Still wishing to become a land use and zoning attorney, Baugh convinced the team at Withey Morris to hire him for free. After his day job as an attorney, Baugh would work evenings pro bono.
After a while Withey Morris hired Baugh, and he couldn’t be happier. “I can’t imagine doing anything else other than what we do here,” he says.
Baugh relishes in the fact that his clients refer him for more work to their colleagues. He isn’t a Phoenix native, and loves cultivating relationships in a tight-knit industry.
Over the past 11 years at Withey Morris, Baugh has worked on many projects, including the redevelopment of the Town and Country Shopping Center and the development of The Yard, the popular restaurant project that is home to Culinary Dropout on Phoenix’s Seventh Street Corridor.
Working on The Yard was a tough assignment, Baugh says, and since its completion many other teams on other projects in the area mimic what Baugh did to make The Yard a reality.
“Maybe that’s a compliment, I don’t know,” he says. When driving down the corridor, he is certainly happy to see the thriving area, which started with The Yard.
“It’s fun to point out projects. I feel like I’m building the community,” Baugh says before mentioning that the developers are the ones taking the big risks that make these projects happen. “But I feel like I’m a small part of the team.”
Baugh is all about endurance. He’s a marathon runner, actively involved with the community, serving as a Boy Scouts Leader and a Gilbert Chamber board member. He also spends as much time with his five young children and wife as he can.
“By far my proudest accomplishment is having five kids, that are good kids, who are honorable, makes me happy,” he says.
