This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.

I was quite intrigued after my recent visit with Phil and Jon Lear of Lear & Lear. Their business seems to be a regular law practice in the beautifully renovated Downey Mansion in Salt Lake City. But things aren't always as they appear to be.

In 2002, Phil Lear, who has been involved with natural resources law for 35 years, decided to leave big-firm life to go into partnership with his brother, Jon. They opened their own mineral and natural gas boutique law firm together. Jon had also been heavily involved in developing environmental policy through his business Ruby Mountain, Inc.

Three years after forming Lear & Lear, Phil and Jon decided they wanted their own office space and started searching for the perfect location. They found just what they were looking for in a former Victorian mansion on South Temple. The building needed an extensive renovation. The Lear brothers took on the project and formed Lear Holdings to manage the property.

Because of their backgrounds in mineral law and environmental policy, Phil and Jon had a clear understanding of the need for green technology. They wanted their renovation to involve renewable energy as much as possible. However, because the building is listed on the National Register for Historic Places, turning the mansion into a modern office space using green technology was a challenge.

Today, as ironic as it sounds, the building housing an oil and gas law firm has a zero emission carbon footprint and three state-of-the-art heating, cooling and air recirculation systems, some involving technology the Lear brothers designed themselves without resorting to carbon fuels. With the cooperation of Salt Lake City, the Lears use constant underground temperature sources to heat and cool the building. Popular Science Magazine highlighted the mansion for its green features in the March 2008 magazine.

Jon and Phil hope to continue to use Lear & Lear to establish green technology as they practice natural resources law.

For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.