Law Office Management
Mar. 2, 2010
My Stint at the White House
I served as special counsel to President Obama in Washington for eight months last year. What’s it like to work in those corridors of power?
From March to October 2009, I served as the special counsel to President Obama in the White House. Whenever I bumped into old friends back in California, they would ask what the White House was like and how it felt to go from being a private lawyer to working with the president. I could violate my duty of confidentiality and give a candid, juicy view of what I did each day, which would break several federal laws and ethical canons, get me disbarred, and ensure that the only way I ever attend another state dinner is by sneaking in with some reality TV show couple. Alternatively, I could simply share some mind-numbing platitudes about the privilege of public service, which would make people wonder why the president hired such a dullard in the first place. Instead, I'd like to split the difference, without revealing any client confidences. Honestly, in many ways the practice of law in the White House is like the practice of law generally, but the extremes are more extreme. Even the tiniest of public acts get scrutinized in ways you can't expect (like what kind of beer is served at the beer summit). And the private aspects are go-to-jail, nuclear-code private. But otherwise, the work of solving legal problems is the same. Apart from longer hours, lower pay, and a bowling alley downstairs, the job is not that different. The things that are different, you might not think about. ? No Swag. Most lawyers are used to giving and getting things - sending wine to clients, receiving personalized thumb drives or pens from vendors. Not at the White House. The Obama Administration has a rule that you can't receive any gifts at all from lobbyists, or anything worth more than $20 from people who aren't family members or old friends. In fact, every member of the White House staff must sit through a lengthy seminar on the subject. (My seminar was even longer than most because Larry Summers was in my group and he couldn't resist trying to stump the seminar leader with economics hypotheticals where the market value of an item was different from its face value.) As a result, staffers tend to horde the two free items that are branded with the presidential seal: sugar packets, and little boxes of M&Ms. ? More and Less Communication. Because communication at the White House is critical, there are many ways to do it. Ironically, though, it is harder than ever to know what is going on. One way to spot White House staffers: They have two of everything - a personal cell phone and a White House cell, a personal computer and a White House computer, encrypted and unencrypted computers. Also, at least one TV set is on at all times. The sheer effort required to keep track of all the information coming at you is itself a problem. But it gets worse. You can't bring cell phones or BlackBerrys into any room where classified information is being exchanged. On most days, emails and voice mails pile up for hours and you have no way of checking them. ? Security. Despite the jokes, it is very, very hard to get into the White House. When my family sent a care package for my birthday, it finally arrived two weeks late, after a thorough screening process in which everything had been removed except for the Styrofoam packing. Helpfully, though, the postal service included a photo of the snacks it had destroyed. At least the president is safe from my malted milk balls. ? Real Time. As a lawyer, you get used to working on short deadlines. But at the White House, decisions are often being broadcast and critiqued as they happen. My favorite example was when then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor broke her ankle on the way to her first set of meetings with members of the U.S. Senate. By the time her plane landed in Washington, her ankle was the size of a grapefruit and no cast would fit under the pantsuit she was wearing. Members of the counsel staff raced to brief her at the hospital; more lawyers were deployed to a department store to find a new suit. Fortunately, she appeared on Capitol Hill on time, albeit on crutches, and the media noted that she looked particularly well dressed. In short, it was a great honor and a privilege to be a White House lawyer, but largely because it is an honor and a privilege just to be a lawyer. Jeffrey L. Bleich became U.S. Ambassador to Australia in November. Before his service in Washington, he was a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson in San Francisco and president of the State Bar of California.
Kari Santos
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