What I found peculiar was that at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld -- where I worked from 1988 to 1991 -- the billing partner for the client Eastern Airlines, Jack Gallagher, Esq., always treated me like I didn't exist. Whenever I saw him, he never said hello; he would look straight ahead as if I was invisible. I found his behavior peculiar, especially since the top guys in a law firm -- even at The Franklin Institute where I worked from 1970 to 1979 -- always seem to find out about me.
In about the year 1976, the Vice-President of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia (Alec Peters) (that's pretty high up), sent a written message to my supervisor, Bruce H. Kleinstein, Ph.D., J.D., that acknowledged he was aware of my outstanding work. Alec Peters also directed Bruce Kleinstein to place an "annotation" in my personel file memorializing my good work. Kleinstein showed me the note that Alec Peters had written. I specifically recall the word "annotation."
But then, Alec Peters was a lawyer. He had a law degree from the University of Bucharest in Romania.
Is it so strange to think that Robert S. Strauss, Esq., the founder of Akin Gump, might have taken notice of me? After all, I had a masters degree in International Trade Law from American University Law School and Bob Strauss had served as the Trade Representative of the United States during the Carter Administration. I had submitted a letter of recommendation written by Seymour J. Rubin, Esq. -- a leading expert in the field -- to Akin Gump's Legal Assistant Administrator, Margarita Babb, in the spring of 1988.
Who knows what Bob Strauss knew?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I assume that Alec Peters is deceased. His wife, Patricia Devlin Peters, was about 30 years younger than her husband and would probably still be alive. When the couple married in 1970, Alec Peters was 58; Patricia Devlin was 28.
Do you think Bernie Epstein remembers Pat Devlin? I wonder if Alec Peters ever said anything to Bernie Epstein about me. Peters was Epstein's boss.
Bernie Epstein lives in Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
I submitted the following letter of recommendation to Akin Gump Legal Assistant Administrator Margarita Babb in May 1988:
July 15, 1985
To Whom It May Concern:
Mr. Gary Freedman was a student of mine in the LL.M. program at American University Law School, attaining his LL.M. degree in December 1984.
Mr. Freedman was a first-class participant in my seminar, and wrote an excellent term paper for me. He showed remarkable research capabilities and, extraordinary in today's students, showed a capacity for writing concise, clear, and elegant English. Combined with a very good capacity for analysis, and with superior work hapits and personality, this makes him, in my opinion, an excellent candidate for a position in the field of law.
I may add that my own experience, and hence my judgment, is based on many years in the private practice of law, in government, and in the teaching of law.
Seymour J. Rubin
Senior Consultant
The American Society of International Law
Post a Comment