Meeting Steve in 1974 (or 1971) - by Peter

I've known Steve for a long time.  I first met him in 1974.  It was in the offices of Morrison & Foerster.

I still remember the first words I said to Steve.  He had greeted me, and I responded:  "I'm sorry, but . . . I'm not Tom.  Who are you?" 

It turned out that Steve had gone to Harvard law school in the same class as my identical twin brother, Tom.  Steve had graduated and had just started at Morrison.  I was finishing a clerkship and interviewing for a job at Morrison.  So, although that encounter was in 1974, genetically I've known Steve since 1971.

After I introduced myself, Steve took me aside.  He had long dark hair.  Sundance Kid mustache.  Wonderful smile.  He wanted to tell me something.  It felt conspiratorial.  He whispered, "You know, all these joints are pretty much the same, but if you actually decide to spend a couple of years in a law firm to pay off your student loans, this isn't such a bad place to do it."  That was good enough for me.  We became colleagues for 15 years.

Being a new associate at a law firm can be intimidating.  But it was great to be in the same "associate class" with Steve.  Steve was brilliant -- but also approachable.  You could check in with him to ask the questions you were afraid to ask others.  He never made you feel foolish for asking.  He was also spectacularly irreverent.  He not only knew the answers, he always explained "what was really going on" -- always with the smile, sparkle in his eyes, and a delight in exposing the bombast and vanity that sometimes creeps into the law business.