The American Lawyer profiled Brad Butwin ’85, newly re-elected chairman of O’Melveny & Myers, and took a look inside what life in quarantine has been like for his family. Three of Butwin’s children are Fordham Law alumni. Jennifer graduated in 2019 and Alex and Jake are members of the class of 2020.
It’s been two months since you got this group under one roof. How’s that going?
The house requires extensive coordination and lots of quiet time. Our protocol is to start with a group chat in the morning and find out who needs quiet time and when. We then see how legitimate each request is—so something like conducting a town hall or taking a test. Then we have to figure out what level of silence they need, like if someone needs to be on dog duty (they get very excited when deliveries arrive). Then we decide which Wi-Fi system we will use. We have two: One is for important business matters and the other is for everything else.
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What do you guys talk about around the table?
My three lawyers come to the dinner table each night with the latest law industry gossip, including from The American Lawyer. They all cross-examine me as to whether certain rumors are true. They know I talk to other law firm chairs from time to time regarding best practices on creating a safe work environment and how firms might reopen. I also ask them questions, like about remarks I plan to make at a town hall. It’s good, because they have a different lens than I do.