Richard “Dick” Talkin has been called a Columbia pioneer, is a respected community advocate and has been praised as the premier land-use attorney in Howard County.
Unmistakable in his trademark bow tie, he has been a fixture in the county since the late 1960s and is credited for being a significant factor in the growth of the county’s major institutions like Howard Community College, Howard County General Hospital and the Columbia Foundation.
“Howard County is my life,” said Talkin, 71, of Pikesville, in an exclusive interview with The Baltimore Examiner, describing the place where he frequently works 14 to 16 hours a day. “It’s where I do my socializing and all my community work.”
His diverse civic activities have ranged from chairman of the board for the Maryland Science Center from 2001 to 2006 to founding board member of the Howard County Board of Education Foundation.
“Dick Talkin’s tenure as board chair at the Maryland Science Center is perhaps best known for the expansion and reinvention of the science center itself,” said Van Reiner, the center’s president and chief executive officer, explaining the arrival of new exhibits added on each floor as the center doubled in size.
“Talkin’s oversight brought to fruition the vision for a modern, state-of-the-art institution for Marylanders to enjoy for decades to come. We are forever indebted to him for his stewardship during the multiyear construction project.”
It’s the sheer volume of his connections that makes him a helpful resource, many said.
“Dick has been invaluable with his contacts and knowledge of people and his wide group of friends,” said Vic Broccolino, president of Howard County General Hospital, describing Talkin’s ability to raise funds for the hospital.
“And he has been doing this while being the preeminent real estate attorney in Howard County.”
Talkin was named the Howard County Chamber of Commerce’s business person of the year in 1982; won the James W. Rouse Award from the Columbia Foundation in 1994 and received an honorary degree from the community college in 2006.
“He is a brilliant attorney who works tirelessly on issues important to Howard County,” said Pamela Klahr, president of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce.
“He is also a grand philanthropist. Dick gives of his time, his mind and his financial support whenever needed if it means betterment for the community.”
Despite his undeniably strong influence and presence in the county, Talkin himself remains humble to the core. He guards his privacy, never boasts about his accomplishments and even hesitates to call them his achievements alone.
“Dick has done so much for the college, but he’s been very quiet about it and not very showy,” said Kate Hetherington, president of Howard Community College.
“He just has a lot of energy and enthusiasm and gets others excited about what he’s excited about.”
Talkin, a Baltimore native and son of a lawyer, wasn’t always intent on delving into the profession.
He graduated from Cornell University in 1959 and later spent six years with the Air National Guard, explaining, “That was just something you did in those days.”
His wife, Lois, played a crucial role in persuading him to get a professional degree. He later graduated from the University of Maryland Law School in 1965.
A couple of years later, after exploring other interests, he desired to have his own practice and began his statewide search for the perfect office location.
While driving one day in late 1967, he stumbled upon a small, modest road sign pointing toward Columbia, which had just been founded by James Rouse. A neighbor of his worked for Rouse, which further piqued his curiosity.
“And I thought, ‘This is fantastic — Here’s a new town, I’m a new lawyer, and there are 100,000 people coming from out of town,'” he said. “So, it was a marketing decision.”
He opened his office on Jan. 1, 1968, and has been in Howard ever since. He also lived in Columbia for about 12 years and it was where he raised his three children.
“I found I liked it because it was creative,” said the attorney. “At the end of the day, you see, feel and touch what you’ve been working on.”
Talkin and his partner, Sang Oh, now provide legal services through Talkin & Oh, with the large portion of the practice dealing with real estate law, zoning, administrative law, real estate construction and development and estate planning.
Throughout the years, Talkin has secured a number of high-profile clients, perhaps most visibly Mangione Family Enterprises, which owns the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott City.
He’s also now representing Wegmans, which is seeking a Columbia location, and WCI Communities Inc., which is seeking to build a 23-story condominium complex in Columbia.
Talkin didn’t wish to discuss current cases, but did acknowledge the successful cases he’s had through the years, citing the mixed-use community of Maple Lawn and the county-owned Timbers at Troy Golf Course in Elkridge as two examples.
So what exactly makes him so dominant, causing developers to flock to him left and right?
“He just works very hard, and he’s very determined to win — There’s really no big secret there,” said Howard County Delegate Elizabeth Bobo, who’s known Talkin for many years.
Talkin represented the Gould family in the late 1980s when it was discovered that a desirable stone used for road pavement was found on about 600 acres of property in the Jessup area.
A special exemption under county zoning law was necessary for stone quarry operations, setting off a long process and some community opposition to the project.
“It was controversial in that it was a very long hearing process,” said Caleb Gould, son of Kingdon Gould Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg. “We had opposition but the community at large was in support.”
He said Talkin was instrumental in working with the community before they applied for the special provision.
Eventually, an agreement was reached with a community association to build a community center as a condition for the stone quarry. After many community public hearings, the application was approved.
“Dick is a very thoughtful, thorough and personally engaged person,” Gould said. “He doesn’t delegate away roles — It’s not like working with a large, corporate-type firm. He wants to know detail.”
The nature of Talkin’s profession, however, means likely opposition from time to time.
“When you work on a case, you try to work with those in opposition. … Sometimes you can do it and sometimes you cannot,” he said.
“You try to treat people with respect. Sometimes you have to agree to disagree with them.
“We try to create the best possible projects,” he said. “We don’t have a great number of developers here in Howard County, but the ones we have are a great group of people.”
And the proof of their success lies in the creation of beautiful developments and neighborhoods, which have fostered great schools and community amenities, he said.
Since Talkin is known around town for being an attorney who knows what he wants and knows how to get things done, this has baffled some.
“You don’t want to go up against him,” said community activist Cathy Hudson. “But he is a realist sometimes. If he can find a win-win, he’s willing to do that. He’s not always one to jam it down the community’s throat.”
Hudson said Talkin wins cases because he simply knows the law well.
“He comes across as reasonable at times,” she said. “He has a manner that commands authority, but he also knows what he’s up against.”
Perhaps no other community organization has taken a side against Talkin more than the Howard County Citizens Association, a nonpartisan organization of concerned residents that formed in 1961.
“He’s probably our most formidable adversary,” said Bridget Mugane, president of the association.
“I’m a lawyer and can appreciate how good he is. He’s very talented and I wish he were on our side.”
Still, even those who are critical of Talkin can’t help but respect him.
“I know Dick has been a philanthropist, and I’m a great admirer of that,” said Mugane. “And he certainly has a sense of style too.”
Talkin’s admiration and support for his community literally starts right in his office, where the walls are lined with paintings he bought from local artists.
Just as Talkin’s keen observation skills were at display when he decided on Columbia for an office location, he again spotted something while attending a meeting several years ago at the Board of Education building in Ellicott City.
The hallway was lined with artwork. He was always fond of artwork but never imagined collecting it as a hobby.
“We have great artists in Howard County and lots of them,” he said. “Collecting is a good way to focus and support arts in the community.”
And the art community has been appreciative of him as well.
“He has done just an amazing job in supporting local, Howard County artists,” said Coleen West, executive director of the Howard County Arts Council, describing his support for artists like Joan Bevelaqua and Mary Jo Tydlacka.
“It has become a real passion of his, and he has done a tremendous job in boosting the careers of certain artists.”
The building of Talkin’s office itself, inside the historic Dorsey Hall Manor House in Ellicott City, built in the early 1700s, is also a testament to his support for the community.
“He did such an excellent job in restoring the Dorsey Hall property and as a result was named one of our preservationists of the year,” said Fred Dorsey, a vice president with Preservation Howard County, a nonprofit that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the county.
In addition to being an avid collector himself, Talkin previously served on the board for the arts council.
He’s also credited with helping fundraising efforts for the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College, which now supports three performance venues, two dance studios and multiple instructional facilities for the college’s visual arts and music program.
Talkin assisted with the college’s first capital campaign to raise $12 million over seven years for student scholarships, programs and other initiatives. The college exceeded this with over $14 million raised, Hetherington said.
“If you’re thinking about fundraising, he’s your go-to guy,” Hetherington said. “He’s the one I always look to. He’s very thoughtful, reflective and very well respected.”
It would be impossible to list all of his activities, as Talkin has sat on numerous boards throughout his four decades of service, serving as a fundraiser, adviser and donor himself.
It is his intellectual abilities and experience as a real estate attorney that has added to his ability to be a solid community contributor, many said.
“You don’t have too many people who are that smart and that experienced and who have done it over that long period of time — It’s almost unprecedented,” said Mary Ann Scully, president of Howard Bank, where Talkin sits on the board of directors.
He also served as chairman of Leadership Howard County, an organization that gives individuals encouragement, resources and networking to become better leaders in the county.
Talkin’s involvement in the hospital has spanned decades and has ranged from fundraiser to trustee to adviser.
“To me, he’s a treasure in Howard County,” said Broccolino. “He never says no when a nonprofit asks for help.”
In the 1980s, it was Talkin, along with Jim Moxley, another well-known community advocate, who helped raise $2 million for a hospital expansion, the hospital’s first major fundraising campaign.
Today, Talkin is still playing a role in another fundraising project for the hospital, which is in the midst of another massive renovation and expansion.
The naming of the Howard Hospital Foundation, the fundraising arm of the hospital, is attributed to Talkin and is a revealing clue into his influence.
“He said ‘Why don’t we just name it the Howard Hospital Foundation,’ ” said Broccolino. “He’s very pragmatic and doesn’t beat around the bush.”
Back in the early 1990s, Talkin was president of the board of directors for the Columbia Foundation, started by Rouse, which has awarded millions of dollars to civic, cultural, human service and educational programs designed to enhance community life in Howard County.
“I have a deep admiration for him,” said Barbara Lawson, the former longtime president of the foundation. “When he says he’ll do something, he’d do it. He’s a good visionary and a real leader.”
Talkin pauses to name his greatest professional accomplishment or what his legacy will be.
“We’ve had great things happen in the county through the years, and I was just fortunate enough to be in a position to help make them happen,” said Talkin.
“They’re not really your accomplishments, but the accomplishments of others who want good things to happen.”
But Talkin is still is not ready to hang up the signature bow tie.
“I enjoy the land-use practice and real estate,” he said. “It keeps me active, which I like. So I’m going to continue as long as I can.”
And the question on everybody’s mind: Why the bow tie?
“For many years I wore one in the summer because you don’t have your coat on all day,” he said, beginning to chuckle. “I found you didn’t have to take it to the cleaners like a tie because of spilling things on it. More people should wear them.”
