NYC lawyer Whelan '68 shares love of law with clients, students

Some men are lawyers, some are teachers and some are authors. Few are all of the above — and then some. Meet Stephen Whelan '68, a man whose accomplishments have traversed a broad range of fields from his partnership at a successful New York City law firm to his position as a preceptor at the University.

Whelan's record of accomplishment began at the University, where he graduated magna cum laude. A history major, Whelan also took many courses in politics and economics and actively participated in Whig-Clio.

"What I enjoyed most about that [Whig-Clio] was being able to bring unusual speakers to campus," Whelan said. "Even though I could not agree with them at times, I enjoyed listening to them all because they provided the students viewpoints without the usual filtration," he said.

In honor of his dedication to Whig-Clio, Whelan received the 1967 Outstanding Senior Award for contributing the most to the society.

After Princeton, Whelan attended Harvard Law School. But even though he has donned crimson, Whelan said he fondly recalls his orange-and-black days.

"Harvard is a superb law school, but both the academic and the campus life could not compare to Princeton's," he said.

Yet Whelan did add that "perhaps it's unfair to compare any professional school to a Princeton undergraduate experience."

In 1971, Whelan began working for Mudge, Rose, Gutherie and Alexander, a law firm whose past members include such high profile attorneys as former President Nixon.

After working for three years, Whelan decided he needed to make a career move in order to grow as a lawyer.

"I could tell that the statistical chances of becoming a partner were relatively small because [the firm] had already experienced a strong growth spurt in the 1960s. So I looked around for a firm still waiting to grow," he said.

In 1975, Whelan found his place with Thatcher, Proffitt and Wood, now one of New York City's largest law firms, becoming a partner in 1978.

With Whelan's help, the firm achieved its greatest period of growth in the 1980s.

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"It was satisfying to be a partner and help engineer the firm's success," Whelan said.

Whelan then progressed through the firm, becoming an executive in the mid-1980s and chairman in the mid-1990s. Still with the firm, Whelan is mainly involved in corporate finance.

"I enjoy helping clients to solve problems . . . [and to] structure financial transactions so that every party wins," he said.

Beyond the desk, Whelan remains involved in Princeton life through his work on the graduate board of Cloister Inn and as a preceptor. In 1998, after his daughter, Christine Whelan '99, took Politics 316: Civil Liberties with professor Robert George, she tried to convince her father to take on teaching as a side profession.

"She said, 'Dad, wouldn't it be great if you could do this,' but I had no idea how I could accomplish it," Whelan said. His daughter set up a meeting with her lecturer, Don Drakemen GS '98, and Whelan has been a preceptor ever since then.

"I love teaching at Princeton and one of the reasons is the opportunity to see how the students conduct themselves in precept," he said. "Many students were undecided [about their careers] before they took one of these courses, and for many it convinced them that they wanted to go to law school," Whelan said.

Whelan also noted the joy of working with distinguished faculty such as professor George.

"Robert George is better than any professor I had at Harvard Law School, even better than Archibald Cox, who gained fame as the principal lawyer of the Watergate era," Whelan said. "I enjoy listening to professor George's insight in the lectures."

George expressed similar sentiments about Whelan.

"Whelan's secret to being a successful teacher is his love of the subject material. Whether it is constitutional interpretation or civil liberties, he is able to communicate this love to the students. It's infectious," George said.

Between work in New York City and in Princeton, Whelan's schedule is anything but empty. However, he manages to remain involved in various organizations.

Whelan is a member of the James Madison Program's Advisory Council, is on the board of directors for the Atlantic Legal Foundation and is a trustee for the Fawnces Tavern Museum, which displays New York's colonial history from the late 18th century.

"I enjoy this museum because everyone thinks of lower Manhattan as skyscrapers, but there still are buildings left from the colonial era," he said.

In his role as an author, Whelan has published books on corporate finance and is the coauthor of the American Bar Association's Annual Survey on Developments in the Law of Lease. He is also chair of the ABA's lease and secured transactions subcommittee.

While Whelan's combination of responsibilities is sometimes overwhelming for him, he has stayed on top of his commitments.

"It is difficult, but that's expected any time you want to venture outside the comfort zone and accomplish more than will be expected," Whelan said. "But I've somehow always been able to juggle without dropping the ball."

And although he has been a lawyer for over three decades, Whelan said he has maintained his passion for law.

"It has never gotten stale for me, as it has for many, and part of that is because I like to solve client's problems and the nature of the problems continually change with the times," he said.

With the constant change of laws, Whelan said he must continually adapt to new practices.

"In my law firm, I'm not doing the same thing from ten years ago, even five years ago," he said.

The same is true of his teaching experience.

"In teaching civil liberties, the Supreme Court hands down decisions each year that change the course material, so it's really never the same," he said.

As for Whelan's advice for aspiring lawyers: "I would encourage them to take the Civil Liberties and Constitutional Interpretation courses because it will expose them to valuable subject matter and a manner of approaching problems which will be useful in law school," said Whelan.