In a recent podcast, WilmerHale Partner Bill Lee discussed his first year at Hale and Dorr—one of the firm’s two legacy firms—and how he met his mentor, James D. St. Clair. Mr. Lee recounted a high-profile case during his first year, through which he had the opportunity to witness Mr. St. Clair as a strategist, a trial lawyer and an appellate lawyer. Mr. St. Clair provided invaluable lessons into how to be a lawyer, “but more importantly, how to be a professional and good representative of the Bar,” Mr. Lee said. 

Mr. St. Clair graduated from Harvard Law School in 1947 and joined Hale and Dorr two years later. The New York Times previously described Mr. St. Clair as a  trial lawyer who, in a career spanning half a century, “developed a reputation as a dignified, courteous and highly competent adviser to a wide range of clients who spanned the political spectrum.” Mr. St. Clair worked with Joe Welch to bring down Senator McCarthy and later represented President Nixon during the Watergate affair.

In the Legal Speak podcast, Mr. Lee said that Mr. St. Clair provided  invaluable lessons in “integrity, discretion, truthfulness and respect.” Mr. Lee had the opportunity to work on nearly 30 jury cases with Mr. St. Clair, and likened the experience to “watching a great centerfielder play baseball.” Observing Mr. St. Clair “was the best possible lesson you can have,” Mr. Lee said. 

Mr. Lee is a leading trial lawyer and intellectual property litigator who has represented a variety of technology-focused clients for more than 40 years. Mr. Lee has tried more than 200 cases to verdict and argued more than 75 cases to the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit and other appellate courts. Those cases have included some of the highest profile patent cases of the last decade. 

The full podcast is available at Law.com. Mr. Lee’s segment begins at around the 40-minute mark. In addition to this podcast, Mr. Lee has previously recounted his memories of Mr. St. Clair, in a video commentary, available at WilmerHale.com.