Trump's attorney offers tips

AMERICAN FORK — Advising Donald Trump on which promising hopeful to fire each week on "The Apprentice" has earned George Ross a celebrity status he never found as an attorney.

"You practice law for 50 years, teach for 20 years, (but) then fire some nice, young kids and everybody loves you," Ross, 78, told the Deseret Morning News in a recent interview. "(You reach) celebrity status."

Ross, who sat with Trump and former Trump executive Carolyn Kepcher in the dreaded boardroom to determine which contestant should be fired on NBC's hit reality TV show, was visiting Utah to share his business chutzpah and talk about his new book, "Trump-Style Negotiation: Powerful Strategies and Tactics for Mastering Every Deal."

"We have a great relationship with (Ross)," said Shellie Njord, vice president of corporate communications for Net Marketing Alliance, an American Fork-based financial education company that sponsored the visit by Ross. "We have a big list (of speakers) — he's one of our favorites."

Ross has been Trump's attorney for more than 30 years, although he officially joined Trump's organization in 1996 as the executive vice president and senior counsel.

Ross agreed to participate on Trump's show but didn't realize the depth of that commitment.

"(Trump) said it would be three hours a week," Ross said. "I didn't know he meant three hours a week to do his (corporate work) and the rest of the week was the show. But, yes, it was a blast."

The show follows 18 contestants as they try to prove themselves worthy of the "apprentice" title and a six-figure salary for a year.

Through various projects, Trump, Ross and Kepcher watched how the competitors responded to pressure, deadlines and group projects.

So what are some important traits of wannabe apprentices?

"The ability to adapt to a different situation and how to defend a position even with a bad result," Ross said.

Successful apprentices also had a certain spark, an apparent professional drive.

Part of that success comes from good negotiating — the focus of Ross's book and his class at New York University.

"It's amazing how few people know about negotiating," Ross said, even though people do it every day.

The book is intended to help readers take note of how they negotiate, evaluate their performance and look for ways to improve.

Ross is done with the show because he said he didn't want to make the move to Los Angeles, where the next season is being filmed.

"I'm very happy with life now. I have the opportunity to spend time with developing programs to enrich lives," Ross said. "I'm in the give-back mode."

And while Ross said he enjoys spending time in Utah, having visited Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and Park City, it's not somewhere he would live.

"People are great. It's a lifestyle I envy," Ross said, "but New York is the major leagues."

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com