Dwight A. Packard, II

Now that Dwight Packard’s three daughters are older, he’s thinking about taking up a few outdoor adventures again. Like the time he climbed Mount Kathadin at the northern tip of the Appalachian Trail in Maine to mark his 40th birthday.

Much of his free time during the girls’ formative years was given to coaching their various teams, mostly soccer. Although his coaching days are over, he looks back fondly on that part of his life. He had a few learning years, he says. But overall, his teams posted winning records. And he picked up this lesson:

“You have your natural athletes. But most of the time, different kids have different talents. A kid can be great at scoring but lousy at defending. It takes a while to learn. But once you figure out what individual players do well and put them in positions that play to their strengths, your team does a whole lot better.”

Dwight grew up in West Chester when it was mostly cornfields. From around the age of 8 through college, he spent summers with his grandparents’ on Sebec Lake in Maine. He came to feel at home exploring the forest, looking under creek rocks for crawdads and fossils, occasionally finding a snake or a snapping turtle.

“Those summers helped me build confidence. I had time to think, look around in my mind and imagine things, just being out there on my own.”

Becoming an attorney was always part of the picture. Dwight’s father was a lawyer, as was his grandfather on his mother’s side. Dwight’s parents were his single biggest influence. They were good at finding ways to motivate him, he says.

“My high school career could be described as mediocre. At the same time, I really wanted to go away to college, to the University of South Florida. But they weren’t interested in paying-out-of-state tuition if I wasn’t going to be a serious student.

“So the deal was, if I earned anything less than a B in any class my first semester at the University of South Florida, it would be considered flunking out and I’d have to come home. I thought, ‘Fine, I’ll show them.’

“The turning point was when I actually found myself enjoying the academic side, along with the rewards of working hard and applying yourself. I did very well. My parents were thrilled, especially when the school waived my out-of-state tuition.”

Dwight and his wife, Danielle, live with their daughters Rebecca, Megan and Madison in, oddly enough, Maineville.

He was attracted to the Firm through its emphasis on innovation. “They’ve gone through a serious process of rethinking themselves. It’s the oldest firm in town, but it’s cutting edge. Graydon is nimble, able to adjust. Their philosophy on the modern practice of law requires so much more than my father and grandfather had to do in terms of adapting to the world of technology.”