Fast 15: E. Conner McNair

Having lived his whole life in Fayetteville, Conner McNair had a simple reason for heading to Georgetown University.

“I thought it would be fun to go to Washington, D.C., for a year,” McNair said.

There was more to it than that, of course. McNair, who earned undergraduate (2006) and law (2009) degrees at the University of Arkansas, was pursuing a master of laws in taxation at Georgetown.

“That was one of the better decisions I ever made,” McNair said. “That provided me a window into a specialization I wanted to pursue.”

Now McNair is an up-and-comer at Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP’s Fayetteville office. His time is split about 50-50 between mergers and acquisitions and general business representation and retirement planning, the latter consisting of plans for small businesses rather than individuals.

“I wanted to be involved in business in some way, involved in transactions, substantial deals,” McNair said. “Tax law was a way to get involved in that.”

McNair also likes the fact his specializations allow him to provide pleasing results to complicated problems.

“At the end of the day, in most cases, everybody’s happy,” he said. “People don’t always think of lawyers that way.”

McNair, whose family has deep Fayetteville roots, said he always “wanted to end up here,” and even though he fully enjoyed his time in Washington, D.C., he was “even happier to come home.”

Away from work, McNair likes to duck hunt and play golf. Golf, in particular, allows him to immerse himself in an activity that demands the same concentration he gives his work.

McNair also became a new father recently. His daughter, Annabelle, is almost 3 months old.

McNair’s community involvement largely is limited to Leadership Fayetteville right now, though he plans to eventually devote time and energy to a small group of select causes. In the meantime, he’s focused on enjoying fatherhood and pouring himself into his work.

“The harder I work, the better I feel about it at the end of the day,” McNair said. “I want my clients to feel like they got over and above what they expected from me.”

It’s a no-nonsense approach that’s served McNair well.

“It’s been a pretty straight road for me so far,” he said.