Done Deals

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Local attorney Mickey Kantor is a master negotiator: It’s said that no American has talked his way through more international trade deals. In four years as U.S. trade representative, Kantor negotiated more than 200 pacts, including parts of the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement. On the home front, he negotiated presidential debate formats and schedules twice as campaign chairman for candidate Bill Clinton. These days, he is busy negotiating deals for corporate clients in Asia as international trade partner in the downtown L.A. office of law firm Mayer Brown. Kantor’s life has been marked by tragedy: He lost his first wife in a 1978 plane crash that claimed 178 lives. Ten years later, he lost a son in a car crash. He also took over reluctantly as U.S. commerce secretary after then-Secretary Ron Brown died in a plane crash. Kantor met with the Business Journal at his downtown office recently to reflect on his career, how he’s tried to balance work with family life and changes he’s made after a stroke.


Question: How did you first get interested in politics?

Answer: That comes from my upbringing. My parents had a mom-and-pop furniture store in Nashville, Tenn. But my father was always involved in local politics. He got elected to the school board. In 1954, just after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling came down, my father made a speech calling for the desegregation of Nashville schools. That didn’t sit too well with the mayor at the time, who had him kicked off the school board. I was 15 at the time and that was my first introduction to politics.

So you knew from that time you wanted to get involved?

I knew I wanted to do something to help society. I cared a lot about civil rights and addressing poverty. I decided to go to law school at night so I could represent people on civil rights and poverty issues. I joined one of the legal services programs that were then just forming in states around the country and I was sent to Fort Myers, Fla., to represent farmworkers there. So I packed up a Hertz rent-a-truck and took my family out there, my (first) wife, (Valerie), and two children.

So what happened once you arrived
in Florida?

It was 1968 and I went to visit some of the farmworkers. They lived in tin shacks with no running water; their babies were basically living inside cardboard boxes. I had seen poverty growing up in Nashville, but this was truly shameful. What’s more, the spraying of pesticides took place when the farmworkers were in the fields. My job was to try to make things better for these workers.

Did one place stand out?

There was this place called Camp Happy, where the farmworkers were kept behind barbed-wire fences. If anyone left, the sheriff was called in to round them up and bring them back. I could not believe this was America. We brought lawsuits seeking redress citing the 13th Amendment – yes, the one abolishing slavery – against the owners of Camp Happy.

You met Sargent Shriver and the two of you worked to save legal aid programs.

Yes, that was in 1971. I had come to Washington because Congress was threatening to cut off funding for the legal services program. Someone suggested I call Sargent Shriver. I didn’t think he would see a young attorney like me. To my shock, he invited me to his office and we spent three hours crafting a broad strategy to preserve legal aid programs. He got on the phone, we had letterhead made up and started sending letters. And it worked. What’s more, I formed a lasting friendship with Sargent Shriver. A year later, I was working on his vice presidential campaign.

What did you do for the campaign?

I was a staff coordinator. It was great work but, obviously, the outcome was very discouraging.

How did you come to California?

After the McGovern campaign, (the late U.S.) Sen. Alan Cranston called me and invited me to run his re-election campaign in California. I was absolutely stunned. I had never really been in California and knew almost nothing about the state. I told him this and you know what he said? “That’s exactly why I want you there. You are beholden to no one in California, so the only person you’ll be beholden to is me.”

What was your first impression of Los Angeles?

I was a little confused. Every day was like a vacation day, especially with the weather. The people were laid back, more casual than I was used to. I wondered how any work got done here. But I also said to my wife, “This is where we’re staying. The only reason we’d ever leave is if I were offered a cabinet position in some future presidential administration.”

Then you decided to join the Manatt Phelps law firm?

I was approached by Chuck Manatt. At that time, his law firm had only about eight attorneys, but it was already an influential law firm. Chuck picked people whom he thought would make an impact. This was the first real law firm I had ever worked for and it was very valuable experience.

Then you received a call from Gov. Jerry Brown …

He made a surprise announcement on April 1, 1976, that he was entering the presidential race. Jerry asked me to run the campaign. His announcement had created a huge buzz and we quickly won the Maryland and Nevada primaries. But in the end, we simply ran out of time. He entered the race too late and couldn’t get on enough ballots.


You returned to Manatt Phelps and then tragedy struck. …

Yes. In 1978, Valerie boarded a PSA flight to San Diego to attend court to argue on behalf of one of her clients. As you know, the plane crashed. That was a searing experience for me.

How did you get through that?

I’d rather not talk about it. It’s still very painful.

But you did remarry. How did that come about?

Yes, I met my second wife, Heidi Schulman, three years later. At the time, she was a reporter at NBC. We had been acquaintances for a while. We got married in 1982 and our daughter, Alix, was born the following year. I’m pleased to say we’re still together.

You were still at Manatt then, representing major corporate clients such as Occidental Petroleum. Did you manage to keep a toehold in the political world?

Yes. I was the California campaign chairman for the Carter-Mondale campaign in 1980. Also, in the Carter administration, I was on the Legal Services Board, which is where I met Hillary Clinton for the first time.


You were Bill Clinton’s national campaign chairman. What was it like when his affair with Gennifer Flowers became a national scandal?

It was quite a blow. I decided to stick with the campaign and we responded with that interview on “60 Minutes” and with intense discipline. We then narrowly lost the New Hampshire primary. That narrow loss was actually a victory of sorts, since the conventional wisdom was that after the Gennifer Flowers episode, the campaign was finished. That’s when we fashioned the narrative of the “comeback kid.” During the summer, I moved our family to Little Rock, Ark.


After President Clinton named you U.S. trade representative, you faced negotiations on the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

He thought globalization was on its way and we needed to have agreements in place to face it. He wanted NAFTA signed and ratified by the end of his first year in office. When we came into office, the agreement that had already been negotiated by the Bush administration was going nowhere politically. To get some traction, we negotiated and added side agreements to address labor and environmental issues.

As you know, many still criticize the NAFTA for not doing enough to protect the environment and U.S. jobs.

Look, I have never negotiated a perfect trade agreement. Did we oversell it a bit? Maybe. But we did what we had to do politically to get it passed. If we had not passed it, then shame on us, because we would not have been as prepared for globalization. When you look at NAFTA overall, it has proved a boon to Mexico, to the U.S. and Canada.

NAFTA wasn’t the only agreement you negotiated.

During the four years I was trade representative, we negotiated over 200 trade agreements. I believe that’s the most trade agreements ever negotiated by a U.S. administration in that short a span. We negotiated textile agreements, intellectual property agreements and investment agreements. We had only 110 people on staff to work out all the details. That was probably the hardest working staff I had ever encountered. It was very intensive work and kept me away from home for long stretches. That being said, I loved the work.


Then commerce Secretary Ron Brown died in a plane crash and you were tapped to replace him.

Yes. The president begged me to take the post. But I didn’t want it; I was quite happy and quite productive as trade representative. But I couldn’t turn down the request from the president.

Why did you stay only nine months?

Even though the president wanted me to stay for the second term, I began to realize I’d never see Alix go through high school. And I didn’t want that.


After you left office, you joined Mayer Brown. What has been your main role here?

I do work for companies throughout Asia whenever they have problems with the governments there or are looking for opportunities to position themselves in the market. For example, Pfizer had problems with its Viagra drug in China – there were all sorts of knockoffs. I helped work with the Chinese government to toughen its anti-piracy policies and enforcement.

That must mean you spend long periods of time away from home. Has that been a problem?

Not now. When my children were growing up, I always felt that wherever I was at a particular moment – at home or on the campaign trail or negotiating treaties – I was always in the wrong place. But now that all the children are grown, it’s easier.


You suffered a stroke three years ago. How has that changed your lifestyle?

At first, it didn’t. While it took me five months to be fully ambulatory and cognitive, I wanted to show everybody I could keep the same pace as before my stroke. I billed 2,700 hours last year. I guess in that regard, I was a little bit nuts. But recently, I’ve begun to cut back somewhat and trim my billable hours a bit and focus a little more on civic activities.

And outside of work?

The biggest change is that I could no longer play tennis as effectively. So about two years ago, I started taking up golf. Although I’m not very good – though, I’m improving! – I love the game. If I get too tired physically, I can use the golf cart.
Earlier this year, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson named you chairman of the Los Angeles 2020 Commission. What is your main goal with that commission?

The commission’s task is to focus on creating jobs and growth in Los Angeles. One of the things we’re looking at is how long it takes to get things done here. At Mayer Brown, we represented BNSF Railway in its effort to build a rail yard near the ports. That project took seven years to get approved. We have to do things better than that.


Do you travel for pleasure?

Yes, Heidi and I have tried to do a bit more traveling on our own in recent years. We just spent time in Myanmar and Thailand. But when it comes to travel, we have a little conflict. You see, Heidi likes to explore new places – she loves the sense of discovery. So next year, we’re planning to go to Dubai, the east coast of Africa and the west coast of India. Me, I like to go back to places that I love, such as Tuscany.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

That’s easy. It came from Sargent Shriver and it can be summed up in three words, “Give it back.” So, whatever you do, give it back. However successful you are, give it back. It’s an admonition for all of us.

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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