As Barack Obama hits the campaign trail again, many pundits are wondering if he has enough political magic left to salvage the midterm elections for Democrats. A.J. Thomas, a partner in the downtown L.A. office of Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block LLP, was there firsthand to see Obama’s first major political victory: getting elected president of the Harvard Law Review.
Thomas, 44, was a classmate of the future commander in chief at Harvard Law School and a fellow editor at the Law Review, and recalls Obama emerging victorious from an all-day “Survivor”-like election in 1990 that started with 30 candidates. Thomas was impressed with his ability to bridge the gap between the conservative and liberal factions of the Law Review.
“I voted for him twice for president,” Thomas said. “And I think I’ll vote for him again for re-election, though a lot can happen in two years.”
Thomas said he doesn’t have any particularly remarkable memories about Obama’s stint as review president, only that he did a good job overall and proved to be quite the basketball player during pickup games.
“I was a little short and slow,” he said with a laugh. “He had a nice shot and was a scrappy player.”
Thomas isn’t the only partner in Jenner’s L.A. office with a presidential connection. His office is next to that of Kenneth K. Lee, former associate counsel to President George W. Bush.
Making a Stretch
When Julie Locke wanted to promote her company, a law software firm named Epiq Systems, she met with an investment banker through an introduction from her Pilates instructor.
The get-together at Starbucks didn’t turn out as she anticipated. The investment banker asked her to serve on the board of the Southern California Counseling Center, an organization Locke had never heard of.
“I expected he would tell me which networking groups to join,” she recalled. “Instead he said, ‘I think you would be good fit for the SCCC board.’ It was all through Pilates, not because I was into therapy or even knew this place existed.”
A year after that meeting, Locke, 35, is serving on the 15-person board of the organization, which provides counseling to those who can’t afford it elsewhere and trains therapists to deal with this underserved population.
Although she admits that she had no attachment to any non-profit cause, she now feels extremely passionate about the center – and especially its board – as a counterbalance to her career.
“It’s amazing the diversity on that board,” she said. “People come from the therapy profession, business, entertainment and law. They find this small community organization is so noncorporate. It’s a very inviting place where you want to give your service.”
Tile Talk
As vice president of marketing for JM Eagle, an L.A. manufacturer of plastic piping, Neal Gordon doesn’t generally swing a hammer.
“I spend more time building marketing plans than homes,” quipped Gordon, 53.
Earlier this month, however, the West L.A. resident made an exception by spending a day laying tile for the very first time.
The occasion was a house-raising in Lynwood sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that constructs homes for needy people. Gordon and 19 co-workers, including employees of fiberglass-door making sister company Plastpro Inc., pitched in to help. His assignment: to tile the kitchen meticulously.
“It was not a walk in the park; this was work,” Gordon said.
The aftermath: “I went home, looked at my own kitchen and noticed all the imperfections.”
Does he plan to correct them using his new skills?
Hardly, Gordon said. “The most athletic thing I do is jump to conclusions.”
Staff reporters Alfred Lee, Joel Russell and David Haldane contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
