Burl M. Finkelstein is an engineer. And a businessman. And a lawyer. And a general counsel. And a rocket scientist. Among other things.
He started out as an engineer with Kason Industries Inc., the Shenandoah, Ga.-based manufacturer most known for making the latches for big walk-in commercial refrigerators. Kason moved him first to Binghamton, N.Y., in 1978, then to its headquarters, near Newnan, in 1980. As his management responsibilities grew, so did the legal complexity of the business of inventing, patenting and manufacturing the company’s various products. He decided it would be useful for him to become a lawyer. So he went to John Marshall Law School in Atlanta at night for four years (not including time preparing for the LSAT and the bar exam) while working full time as a company vice president.
