During fall break I had the opportunity to intern at Latham and Watkins, a Washington, D.C. law firm. My host, Nicholas Allard '74, with immaculate hair, aerodynamic cell phone and a leather chair big enough to motivate someone to sit through the LSAT, embodied the aspirations of many young lawyers. It was generally an entertaining week, and I took a few interesting lessons from it.
For those who love it, law is a lifestyle rather than a profession. Thanks to the wonders of technology, every moment of peace can be spent on a cellular phone. Technology also allows lawyers to do perhaps 18 things at the same time. One of the busiest moments found Allard doing some high-level politicking on a conference call on fund-raising strategies for a presidential hopeful, while on the cell phone with a client, while checking his e-mail, while shaving and talking to me. The intensity and energy of the lifestyle were impressive. Just imagine a profession where every day is like the three hours before Dean's Date.
During my internship, one of Allard's tasks was to represent a cellular phone company. The company's executive vice president was to act as a witness at a congressional hearing the next morning with Allard as his attorney.
The morning of the hearing found the three of us in the basement of the Russell senate office building. Beneath three floors of frenzied deal-making was a quiet shoe-shine parlor. Allard sat in the chair as the shoe-shiner began to apply the first coat of polish. "You know," Allard said to us, glancing down to make sure that he had the full attention of the shoe-shiner, "I'm writing an article for the Washington Post about the best shoe shines in D.C."
As the shoe-shiner began to buff a little harder, Allard continued, "Yeah, those fellas down at Union Station do a great job. They even wave a candle over your shoes when they are done, to melt the wax or something." Soon the shoe shiner's hands were a flurry of motion, and Allard left with shoes brighter than the sun.
The shoe-shiner moved on to his next client with dreams of fame in his head, and a rather sizable tip in his pocket. On a related note, I also realized, as I walked into the hearing room termed the Gucci Gulch by former senator Bob Dole, that I couldn't have picked a worse occasion to wear suede.
The room was packed with bustling gray and navy suits, trying to introduce themselves to as many people as possible before the hearing began. It was plain to see that these people weren't here just to socialize; the snatches of conversation I picked up showed that everyone had an agenda. Kind of like a Bicker party.
The hearing began, and a South Carolina senator quickly emerged as the major player. The senator had a bill, which he planed to introduce to attack the monopoly of the Bell companies. A perfect stereotype of the deep, deep South, he spiced up the hearing by yelling out the occasional "whoooeee!" and by referring to some of the witnesses as "nibbluz" and others as "big fish." Allard's client was largely ignored for the length of the hearing. Allard had anticipated every question posed to his client the night before. Most importantly, no harm was done.
The final lesson that I took away from this experience is that we will never forget Princeton. Memories are manifested in the form of Allard's wall of Princeton memorabilia and the flecks of orange that work their way into ties, socks, watches and suits.
Of course, Princeton never seems to leave its alumni alone either. In the few days that I was there, Allard took at least five phone calls from parents of high school seniors who were worried about the Princeton application process.
One of the more interesting moments of my experience occurred when two Cottage Club alums were inspecting a photograph in a recent newsletter. One of the attorneys remarked, "The girls we used to date were never this good looking," displaying a true concern for the important affairs of our school. Allard's response of, "Hey, calm down, those girls are only a year older than my daughter!" was just plain funny.
It goes to show that while everyone must change over the years, we will carry part of this place with us forever.
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