Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 8


OUR MEMBERSHIP

Q:MEMORIES?
WHAT ARE YOUR FONDEST

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
Compiled by William Roberts and Tracy Schorn

MARY SMITH

KIMBERLY REED

PETER EDELMAN

Former White House staff attorney recalls
President Clinton's second inauguration.

Attended the 2001 and 2005 inaugurations of
President George W. Bush when she worked for
the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S.
Department of the Treasury.

Georgetown University Law Center professor
remembers 1965 not so much for Lyndon B.
Johnson's inauguration, but the swearing in
of Senator Bobby Kennedy 15 days earlier.

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"I had worked at the Department of
Justice as a career person and I actually
quit my job to work for free on the Clinton-Gore
campaign in '96. I was working on the Inaugural
Committee when I was assigned to help with Vice
President Gore's friends and family, making sure
they got their tickets and whatever they needed.
On the day of the inauguration, some people
didn't pick up their tickets, and I got to take a
friend and we had amazing seats. We were sitting
pretty much where the Gore family was sitting,
really close. There were security guards at each
checkpoint to make sure you had the right level
tickets to keep going further and further to the
front of the Capitol. It was an amazing experience
to be that close, to be there when a president
lays out his vision for the country. What an
exciting time."

"For me, the inauguration is a time to
reflect, give thanks, and contemplate the
future. I loved standing on the Mall in the snow
with thousands of others quietly and carefully
listening to the president and asking myself how I
could help execute his vision in ways big and small,
professionally and personally, to better our nation
and world. And then, from this deeply moving
experience, I soon found myself in the hustle and
bustle of reconnecting with many friends, both old
and new, from around the country, at parties,
receptions, and balls. As the first woman chair of
the Republican National Lawyers Association, I
look forward to celebrating Donald J. Trump's
inauguration at our RNLA luncheon, where we will
honor leaders entering the Trump administration
and the lawyers who assisted with the campaign."

What questions would you like to ask fellow Bar members?
Email us at editorial@dcbar.org.

"I had worked with Robert Kennedy on
his '64 campaign for the Senate. I had
been in the Justice Department so I had gotten
involved in his campaign. And then he asked me
to stay and work for him, which I did. We were
totally over our heads with all the new work. You
know, Kennedy gets sworn in as a senator, and
nobody knew what to do. Kennedy knew a lot, but
the rest of us that were working for him didn't
know what we were supposed to be doing. I was
over my head with learning how to do my job."
Tony Pierce of Akin Gump and Charles
Ingebretson, a former EPA chief of staff
in George W. Bush's administration, share
stories of President Obama's inauguration
at dcbar.org/news.
William Roberts is a freelance writer based in Washington,
D.C. Follow him on Twitter @BillRoberts3.
Reach Tracy Schorn at tschorn@dcbar.org or follow her
on Twitter @TracySchorn.
Photos courtesy of Indian Health Service, Republican National Lawyers
Association, and Patrice Gilbert Photography

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WASHINGTON LAWYER * JANUARY 2017 *
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