All-Star Strategies

All-Star StrategiesAuthor(s): MARK CURRIDENSource: ABA Journal, Vol. 83, No. 1 (JANUARY 1997), pp. 58-65Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27839380 .

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LAW PRACTICE ? CLE credit is available from this article and the companion teleconference

User's Guide To Continuing Legal Education through ABA Connection programs of the ? ABA Journal, ABA Center for CLE, and ABA Membership Department I

What it is The article starting on this page is the basis for a live

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Sports Illustrated associate editor, leading lawyer/athletes through a playbook on how sports strategies can help any practice go for the gold

Program co-sponsors Judicial Division, Law Practice Management, Entertainment and Sports Industries Forum

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58 ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997



BY MARK CURRIDEN

Si ports and law are two of the great obsessions of

contemporary America. Each ap

peals to a national thirst for drama and pageantry, heroes,

competition?even violence.

Channel surfing the televi sion choices, we are almost as likely to encounter trial courts as tennis courts. The Super Bowl and the trials of O.J. Simpson?a former football great?both are subjected to detailed analysis by media pundits, discussed over the water cooler and used as the excuse for office betting pools.

On one level, no two endeav ors would seem to be so unlike each other. If sports thrive on adrenaline, emotion and physical prowess, the thinking goes, law exists in the arena of theory, analysis and reason. If sports challenge the body, then law stimulates the mind.

But sports and law do indeed have much in common. Both fields are characterized by a de sire to win tempered by a sense of fair play. Both the law and most

Mark Curriden is a legal affairs writer living in Chatta nooga, Tenn.

ABAJ/STEVE BLOCH ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 59



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sports are governed by distinct sets of rules interpreted and applied by impartial judges.

Success in athletics, whether team sport or individual competi tion, requires as much mental toughness as a trial, which in turn can be just as competitive as the

most heated athletic contest. And conducting a trial, engaging in drawn-out negotiations or putting together a major business package can leave the participants as physi cally exhausted as if they had been in athletic competition.

Just ask Audrey Powers Thorn ton, a solo practitioner in San Di ego. In October?when much of the nation was caught up in football or the World Series?she was in the throes of a heated trial.

As much as $8 million was at stake in her lawsuit against a mort gage lender and a developer for fraud and conspiracy in a foreclo sure sale on a large parcel of land. The other side was throwing every motion in the book at her in an at tempt to delay the trial. And she was due to have a baby any day.

Thornton?trial over and baby born?now admits there were times when she just wanted to go home and get off her feet.

That was when she remem bered the lessons she had learned in years of competitive cycling.

"I had to draw on the same dis cipline and dedication I used in a 60-mile road race," says Thornton,

who was a member of the U.S. na tional cycling team in 1982-83, while attending Washington Uni versity School of Law in St. Louis.

"You have to do what you have to do," she says. "In a race, you can't let the first 10 miles or that first hill get to you. You learn to suffer. You learn to get through the

pain. You keep pushing it, and if

you've trained right, you will get that second wind.

"Does that not sound like half of the cases that we as lawyers get involved in?" asks Thornton.

"The skills you acquire as an athlete are very applicable to being a good lawyer," agrees Patti Sue Plummer, who was good enough in

running to compete for the United States in the 1988 and 1992 Olym pics?and practice law at the same time.

"Each sport probably teaches very specific lessons, but they all teach some basic principles," says Plummer, who still runs competi tively and is considering a return to law practice. "Mainly, just being competitive, and knowing how to compete?that's a significant learn ing experience."

And Alan Page, a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court who once toiled in the "black and blue" division of the National Football League as a defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, maintains, "Any number of qualities that one gains in athletics

... teach [a] successful

ness that can be trans ferred to law.

"Those things? be it competitiveness, preparation or strate gy?can be seen and utilized by anyone."

Strategy. Prepar ation and competition. Discipline. Teamwork. Those are the things that sports can teach, but one does not have to be an athlete to ab sorb the lessons.

"There's no mys

tery to being an ath lete," says Craig Mas back, an associate at

Wilmer, Cutler & Pick ering in Washington, D.C., and a former

champion runner.

"Many of these techniques and skills can be learned and ac

quired by nonathletes." Moreover, he says, sports are

not the only way to learn such

things. "I think we all learn how to

practice law from our own re sources and experiences," he notes.

"We have a lawyer here who is a dedicated musician, and her com mitment to that is tremendous. It

helps her in her practice [of law]." Nevertheless, sports and law

seem to have a special affinity, per haps fostered by their mutual em

phasis on competition in a rules oriented setting.

A surprising number of sports standouts have turned to law as their "second job," including former NFL stars Kellen Winslow and Nick Buoniconti. George Mikan, the first great star of the National Basketball Association in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and Len El

more, an NBA player in more re cent years, also are lawyers.

A number of prominent play ers and coaches still active in sports hold law degrees, including St. Lou is Cardinals baseball manager Tony LaRussa and football quarterback Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers. Two of the most successful young coaches in college football, Rick Neuheisel at the University of Colorado and Terry Bowden at Auburn University, are lawyers.

Eventually, of course, all ath letes retire from competition, but they take the lessons learned in sports into other careers. That is

60 ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 abaj/steve woit



fthe case with a number of former? and some current?athletes now in the legal profession, who have

^ shared their ideas with the ABA Journal on how any lawyer can use

* an athlete's approach to improve r the way he or she practices law.

h Competition and Fair Play Il Henry Marsh, who still holds

ys f the U.S. record in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase that he set in 1980, has a blunt view of the con nection between sports and law.

?a "Competitive athletics help de velop a mental toughness for corn

er peting," says Marsh, a former liti gator who now speaks on corporate productivity and motivation for

. Franklin Quest in Salt Lake City.

"Whether we like to admit it or not, the business of law is competition. It's beating the other side. The strong survive."

In such an environment, con

tests often are won or lost because of the little things, says Marsh.

Baseball games are decided by whether a player hustles a little more to stretch a single to get into scoring position on second base. Basketball games can be lost be cause of a missed free-throw early in the game.

And just as tennis, golf or foot ball can be the proverbial "games of inches," according to Marsh, "so, too, is the practice of law. Many, many cases are won or lost by a sin gle piece of evidence that the law

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^^^^^ tor at Knapp, Peter ^^^H^^^^^^^^^^H^B^^^^^^^H^^^^^^H sen Palm ^^^^^B^^^^H|^^H^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^|B B^^^HflHfl^B|^^|^^^^^^^^HBj^^^HjB uses an ^^^^^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ lesson ^^^^^^^^^^HH|^HanH^^H^^^^^^^^^| tion that he learned in ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^ his first appearance on

|^ ||^^^ [^^^ the mound as a major ^^^^^^^^^^|B^^^^HBH^^^^^|^^^^^H league baseball pitcher ^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^BBHBB A^?^?^? ?^?^?^ for the Boston ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BBj^^^^B^^^^^B was ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HBH^^^^^^^^B 1967, ^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^mWm^? ing ^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^^^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^? the ^^^H^^^^^^^R|^H[Î^^^^^^^^^^^^^H pitched I^^^B^^^^^BB^^^S^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B the New ^^^B^^^BJBB^BB^B|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B Yankees ^?^?^L^?^?^?^mB^?^?^^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?m and two-thirds ^^^^^^^^^BB^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H more ^?^?^?^?^?^?M??^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^M he become the I^^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B first to throw a B^^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^HH^^^^^^^^^^^^^B ^^^^BH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B game the ^B^^^H^^B|^Bh^^^^HI^^^^^^^^^^^^H came ^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^H to a ^^^^^^^^H^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H when Elston ^^^^^^B^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B stepped to the plate ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^B^^^^^^H a Rohr ^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^m^mWk^m^m^m^m^m^^ won a ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B?^^^^^^^^Î when Yankee ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^H batter to ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ the the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B was IBBBBBi^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BHIBHBBBBBI The lesson Rohr I

learned in that game was summed up by another Yankee great, Yogi Berra, in one of his memorable ma lapropisms: "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Translating for lawyers, Rohr says, "I think there's never a piece of trial work that couldn't be lost, or a piece of trial work that couldn't be won."

But sports involve more than just the pursuit of winning, accord ing to Rohr and other athletes turned-lawyers. They also teach fair play and following the rules, an athletic parallel to the legal sys tem's commitment to justice and the protection of rights.

In a sense, suggests Rohr, there is little difference between a baseball player, for instance, who illegally fills his bat with cork to hit balls farther and a lawyer who plays fast and loose with the facts

or tne law in a case.

"If you misrepre sent the facts or shade them," he says, "even

tually you're going to get found out. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remem ber everything you

say, because the truth is constant." In other words, play fair. But Martin Jenkins, a football

player at the University of Santa Clara in California who got a look see in the pro ranks before being cut by the Seattle Seahawks, no tices less fair play both on the play ing fields and in the courts.

Jenkins is in a position to know, on both counts. When he is not working as presiding judge for the juvenile division of Alameda County Superior Court, Jenkins of ten can be found refereeing high school football games.

"I don't see as much respect for the rules, the hallmarks of fair play" in football games, Jenkins says. "It's more of an individual thing. When I played football, it

was a team sport." So it is with lawyers, especial

ly younger ones, Jenkins adds. "They tend to be more adversarial and

more contentious."

So, like any good referee, Judge Jenkins tells lawyers appearing be fore him that everyone is better off playing by the rules. "I try to re mind them that there is a common

goal: to get the best result for your client."

The sports world is replete

ABAJ/DWIGHT VALLELY ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 61



^???S?^B for your client, even if

with legends about the length to which athletes go to prepare for competition.

Preparation is Key Stories about basketball play

ers endlessly taking practice shots in empty gyms, golfers staying on the practice range until dusk, and football players poring over game films long into the night have be come part of sports lore?and bor der on the clich?.

But if truth lies at the heart of every clich?, the fact is that prepa ration holds the key to perfor mance, both in sports and law. Ath lete-lawyers are well aware of the need to prepare in both fields.

"Even as a runner, I practiced to be ready for the unexpected," says Rich Nichols of San Francisco,

a college Ail-American in track who was a member of the U.S. national team in 1982. "I was always the lit tle guy on the track. I always had to be ready to be bumped or pushed. In court, you need to be prepared to act?not react?when the unex

pected happens." Minnesota Supreme Court Jus

tice Page says preparation is the single most important lesson he carried from sports when he moved into law. In sports, he says, prepa ration is a means for athletes to evaluate not only the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents, but their own.

"Football teaches you to be ready, to be aware of all the things that may pop up during a game," says Page. "Knowing what you have to do, especially being able to iden

tify and confront the most difficult task, is the key to winning."

When Eryn Forbes, a solo prac titioner in Warren, Ore., ran track in college and as a member of the

U.S. national team, she used work outs as a type of self-analysis, learn ing her physical and mental limits.

"In this respect, practicing law and track are very much alike," ob serves Forbes. 'You can train and practice and then do everything you're supposed to do physically, giving everything you've got. But sometimes, things still happen. Things don't always go your way. Track conditions change in mid course. Unfortunately, so does the law.

"Being able to understand that, know that it is going to be that

way and know what to do when it happens, that's what preparation and training is really all about."

Obviously, a lawyer does not prepare for a trial, an important business negotiation or a bankrupt cy hearing by working out at the weightroom, the batting cage or the running track. But lawyers with sports backgrounds say they apply

^^^^^^^^^^^^K^^B^^B^^BBtt the same kind of systematic ap ^?^?^?^?^?^?^?^?WB??^^?^?^?^?m^ proach to preparing for cases that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^H^BL| for them ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H|^^^^^^^^^^H^Îh was always sue

^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ says for mer muer and Washington, D.C.,

lawyer Masback, "I had a methodi cal training process for each race, and I've found that useful in the law.

"The equivalent of training probably is writing the brief, and standing up in an oral argument is the equivalent of the race."

Cyclist Thornton uses careful preparation as the foundation for building confidence in the cases she brings to court, "Confidence comes from preparedness," she observes.

In her racing, Thornton?who now races in age-group competi tions?would follow a thorough reg imen of preparation, carefully plot ting her training, tuning her bike, even selecting specific types of food as races approached. If she felt fully prepared, her confidence peaked at race time.

62 ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 ABAJ/DAVID WEINTRAUB



"If you prepare the same way in the law, you'll probably be suc cessful," says Thornton.

To the casual observer, many

sports may seem to unfold in an ex

ceedingly random and disorganized fashion.

In fact, athletic contests are

played out according to elaborate strategies worked out on the basis of careful considerations of the com

petitor's own abilities and the strength of the opposition.

Even track races that may be over in barely 10 seconds are run

according to subtle strategies and tactics.

Baseball, for instance, is a

sport that resembles litigation in the way games turn on how well players and managers adjust to the shifting circumstances of the com

petition. "Baseball strategy is very much

like trial strategy, and the baseball field is like the courtroom," says former pitcher Rohr. Even before a game begins, he notes, "The man

agers and players have to decide where you are going to pitch the ball?high or low, inside or outside, fastball or a curve."

Making a Game Plan Similarly, a lawyer preparing

for a trial must decide in advance what questions to ask witnesses, as well as what questions to avoid.

"Most team sports are like try ing a case in that it is very analyti cal," says Judge Jenkins. "Lawyers with no game [plan] seldom win."

So, while coaches and players preparing for an upcoming game study film of the opponent and scout its previous matches, a law

yer preparing a case searches for legal precedents and analyzes the other side's case.

After all, notes Rohr, when a young pitcher is trying to develop his effectiveness, he "follows the guys who've been successful in the past to see how they do it."

Similarly, what is mentoring but a form of coaching? Most sports involve an ongoing process of learn ing and teaching between players and coaches, just as new lawyers learn from more experienced law

yers, notes Jenkins.

In a spin on that process, Jenk ins recalls that it was his college football coach who first suggested he go to law school. The coach was very realistic in terms of his chances for a professional sports career, he

adds ruefully. Athlete-lawyers say sports and

law share a distinct and important paradox: Success depends on team

work as well as individual perfor mance.

When he was in track, recalls San Francisco lawyer Nichols, all the runners trained and practiced together, but once races began, they competed as individuals.

Likewise, says Nichols, "In the law office, you are part of a team.

You need to work with other associ ates, with the paralegals and the secretaries. You must learn to dele

gate authority and rely on those around you while realizing that

they are depending upon you. "But once you step into the

courtroom," he says, "it's you. Just

you. If you don't ask the question or if you make the mistake in the mid dle of a trial, there's no one else to blame."

Judges?especially those at appellate levels?experience the same combination of individual performance within a team setting. And sometimes the lessons of that relationship are learned in unique

ways. Three justices of the California

Court of Appeals in Sacramento, for example, are tag-team partners in

iron man competitions, which com

bine long-distance swimming, bicy cling and running. Presiding Jus tice Robert K. Puglia is the team

cyclist, while Justice Fred Morrison swims and Justice Arthur G. Scot land runs.

"We are a team," Puglia says. "Without each other, we don't fin ish. At the same time, I am all alone on the bike. They can't help me. I've got to do it by myself."

A similar pattern occurs on the bench, observes Puglia.

"Being a member of a common

enterprise develops people who must pull their own weight yet rely on each other to achieve the overall goal," he says. "As judges, we all must make our own decisions. Indi

vidually, we must decide what the law is and how it applies in each

case. But then, we must come to

gether as appellate judges and reach a consensus.

"If you are a member of a team ?be it in sports or in the law?you cannot go off on your own."

The Roar of the Crowd Although devoted fans might

argue the point, Bob Thomas, an Illinois appellate court justice, knows that the typical case coming before him has more real-life im port than any field goal he kicked for the Chicago Bears on the play ing fields of the NFL.

Nevertheless, Thomas' experi ences in sports have made it easier for him to absorb the daily pres sures that confront a judge.

"I used to be on the front page

Rules of the Game If law were a sport, these

observations, culled from inter

views with athletes-turned-law

yers, might be some of its rules:

Develop mental tough ness to deal with the competitive nature of the law.

Train yourself to persist through the difficulties of a case.

Learn from the pros; ex

perienced lawyers can show you a lot about the nuances of han dling a case.

Balance teamwork with individual performance.

Thorough preparation builds confidence in your case.

Study your opponent's case, not just your own.

Develop a strategy for your case, then conduct the case in accordance with that strategy.

Law, like sports, can be "a game of inches," so pay attention to the little things.

Be ready?not surprised ?by unexpected turns in your case.

A trial, like a baseball game, "ain't over 'til it's over."

Learn from your losses.

Performance improves if you love what you do.

Make room for good sports manship in the practice of law.

Relax under pressure?at least you didn't strike out in front of 50,000 people.

H Don't quit.

ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 63



of the Chicago Tribune for winning and losing games by hitting or

missing that field goal with 10 sec onds to go in the game," Thomas re calls. "From having been in the

spotlight so much, it means I don't have a power trip every time I put on my black robe and take the gavel in hand."

And because he was under so much scrutiny as a football player, Thomas is able to meet public criti cism of his decisions from lawyers or the news media with equanimity.

"As a judge, you're going to make decisions that make some cit izens and some lawyers unhappy," he says. "But when you've been booed by 60,000 angry fans because you missed that field goal, you don't get too perturbed when some

lawyer tells the newspaper or tele vision that you made a bad call.

"I think a lot of judges and many lawyers feel very insecure or nervous about the press," says Thomas. "I know what to say and

how to say it. It helped me a lot dur ing my [judicial election] cam

paigns."

Ex-pitcher Rohr also learned about public scrutiny the hard way. For "anybody who has ever played in Boston's Fenway Park and heard the screaming fans tell you what

they think of your ancestry," he says, "the rest of this is a piece of cake."

The experience taught Rohr about the importance of focusing, "In the law, just like in sports, there's a lot of peripheral noise, and outside influence and distractions," he says. "I have been able to use my ability in baseball to block out those negative forces in my practice, as well."

Love of the Game Success in the law, like athlet

ic accomplishment, is to a great ex tent a matter of attitude, say law yers who have thrived in both fields.

"The key is loving the law," says Jenkins. "You should absolutely love your area of the law the way an

NFL player loves football." Love football? An activity in

which large men run into each

other at full speed? Playing in con ditions ranging from desert heat to

downpours of rain to ice-hard fields in winter? The twisted knees, con cussions and mangled knuckles?

But while the law may not be the same kind of contact "sport," it can be just as rigorous in its own

ways. And it is at those times that the characteristics that define suc cess in both sports and law most

closely mirror each other. "It's a mindset," says Edward

King, a water polo star in college who recently opened the new firm of King & Higgins in San Francisco, where he represents athletes in le

gal disputes with their own agents. <(You've got to be willing to do what it takes for your client?even if that

means pushing yourself." "It takes incredible concentra

tion to be a racer and a lawyer," says Eric Maxwell, a personal in

jury lawyer in Atlanta. Maxwell, a paraplegic who finds

an athletic outlet in competing na

tionally in wheelchair racing, says, "I do 26-mile marathons. Some times it's very difficult to complete the entire race. But you must be fo cused on the final goal. You've got to reach down inside and decide that you will finish what you started."

In law practice, adds Maxwell, "I can't tell you the number of times that I have been involved in a real

ly boring case and I just wanted out. But you've got to have the com

petitive edge, that spirit that tells you that you must go on.

"If you can develop that deter mination in sports, you can develop it in law."

If it had not been for her com

petitive running, Plummer believes she would never have become a

lawyer. She remembers her final

Eric Maxwell: 'You've go competitive edge, that spir you that you must go on.'

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64 ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 997 ABAJ/JOHNNY CRAWFORD



weeks of exams in law school. She had three tests to go and a moun tain of research left to be done.

"It was 11 at night, and I thought that maybe I should cut my losses and just quit," Plummer re calls. "Then I realized that's exactly the way I felt two-thirds of the way through a race. I had been in that spot many times before?that I had thought about quitting, but that I would not quit because I never quit. I always finish."

That kind of motivation may be the trait shared most closely by great lawyers and great ath letes, suggests Rohr. But he won ders whether it is a trait that can be taught.

"I think it's either there or

not," says Rohr. "You can't teach

Tommy John [a pitcher who relied on control rather than speed] to throw as hard as Nolan Ryan [whose pitching epitomized "heat" in baseball lingo]. You can't teach a slow runner to run faster. There's

got to be some desire in the mix." In the same way, says Rohr, a

lawyer can be shown how to give an

opening statement or cross-exam

ine a witness, "but you can't teach someone to be a great litigator."

Cyclist Thornton maintains that, to be successful in sports or

law, "You have to be a very goal-ori ented person in the first place. Sports require a mental commit ment and a mental stamina to do them well. If you can do that, de velop that mental hardness in sports, it's easy to take that into the law."

According to water polo player King, "Most athletes know what it means to push themselves beyond what their body is really capable of. Any elite athlete meets frustration and disappointments.

"There were days when I felt heavy and didn't want to go on. But I had to. I had to push myself and

make myself do it. "Today, there are times when I

face mountains of paperwork and would rather be at home watching Monday Night Football. But I've got

to work."

Thinking like a lawyer is, in some ways, similar to thinking like an athlete. And while adapting some of the approaches of athletes to the practice of law won't guar antee that you will hit a curve ball, it may come in handy when the other side in a case tries to throw you one,

-Lineup Card Lawyers who share their ad

vice in this article reflect a wide range of law practice backgrounds and athletic accomplishment:

Eryn Forbes: Solo practi tioner in Warren, Ore. Graduated in 1988 from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. Member of Uni versity of Oregon track squad in 1979-83, named to U.S. national team.

Martin Jenkins: Presiding judge of juvenile division of Alame da County Superior Court in Cali fornia. Graduated in 1980 from University of San Francisco School of Law. Star cornerback in football at the University of Santa Clara, played briefly for the Seattle Sea hawks in the NFL.

Edward King: Partner in newly formed San Francisco firm of King & Higgins. Graduated in 1978 from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. Member of the 1973 water polo team at University of California-Berkeley that won na

tional collegiate championship, later played for club team that won five Amateur Athletic Union cham pionships.

Henry Marsh: A former lit igator, he speaks on corporate

motivation and productivity for Franklin Quest in Salt Lake City. Graduated in 1981 from University of Oregon School of Law. Since 1980, has been the U.S. recordhold er in men's 3,000-meter steeple chase.

Craig Masback: Associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in

Washington, D.C., where he prac tices communications and interna

tional law. Graduated from Yale Law School in 1994. Ran the mile in 3:52 in 1979, when he was the na tional champion.

Eric Maxwell: Litigator at Webb & Lindsay in Atlanta. Gradu ate of Mercer University Law School in Macon, Ga. Competes na

tionally in wheelchair races, includ ing marathons.

Rich Nichols: Practices general business and sports law at Sideman & Bancroft in San Fran cisco. Received law degree in 1982 from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. At Dartmouth Col

lege, was All-American in track in 1975-76, member of U.S. national team in 1982.

Alan Page: Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Gradu

ated in 1978 from the University of Minnesota Law School. Played collegiate football at Notre Dame, then had an all-pro career in the NFL, playing defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings from 1967 to '78 and the Chicago Bears from 1978 to '81.

Patti Sue Plummer: Grad uate of Stanford Law School, prac ticed employment law at Holtz

man, Wise & Shepard in Palo Alto until 1992. Top-ranked woman run

ner in the world in the 3,000-me ter and 5,000-meter races in both 1989 and 1990. Member of the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic teams; had top U.S. finishes at two different distances.

Robert K. Puglia: Presid ing justice of California Court of

Appeals in Sacramento. Graduate of the University of California School of Law at Boalt Hall in Berkeley. Part of a team with fellow justices Fred Morrison and Arthur G. Scotland that competes in "iron man" triathlons.

Bill Rohr: Civil litigator in the Palm Springs, Calif., office of Knapp, Petersen & Clarke. Law school graduate of Western Univer sity in Fullerton, Calif. Pitched for two years in the major leagues be fore a shoulder injury forced his retirement. Overall record with Boston Red Sox in the 1967 season and Cleveland Indians in 1968 was 3-3.

Bob Thomas: Illinois appel late court justice in Wheaton, 111., former trial judge of DuPage Coun ty Circuit Court outside Chicago. Received law degree in 1981 from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago. After starring in football at Notre Dame, kicked 128 field goals for the Chicago Bears, 1975 84.

Audrey Powers Thorn ton: Solo practitioner in San Diego. Started competitive cycling in 1979, member of the U.S. national team in 1982-83, while attending law school at Washington University in St. Louis. Has resumed racing in

age division events.

ABA JOURNAL / JANUARY 1997 65



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All-Star Strategies