Washington Lawyer - July/August 2021 - 12

FEATURE
" The goal is to have
the Bar's machinery
well oiled and
race tuned. "
Sarchio in a Blackhawk helicopter somewhere over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fall of 1997 during a six-month deployment there serving as senior
foreign claims commissioner in the Balkans.
said, " Sarchio is worth investing in, " and it put me through school
expecting that I was going to deliver something of value on that
investment.
Who were your mentors and role models who helped guide your
development as a leader?
I had the good fortune to work behind some really good leaders on the
[D.C. Bar] Judicial Evaluation Committee. [Judge] Rob Okun and Mark
Rochon come to mind. As a lawyer I've had some incredible, inspirational
folks who have been kind enough to take me under their wing. Steve
Saltzburg is an incredible lawyer and professor who himself dedicated
significant time to bar leadership, particularly with the American Bar
Association. He's a hero, not just in the law but in life for me. I'm very
fortunate to continue to teach as part of his faculty at GW Law. De Smith,
who has been a teacher, a friend, and now a supporter, is a model of so
many good things that we should all strive to do and be as lawyers. Brad
Weinsheimer, like De, is someone I first got to know as an intern at the
U.S. Attorney's Office but remains a colleague today at the Department
of Justice. He's one of those consistent, calm, confident, capable attorneys
who, no matter the issue, you can turn to for quality guidance and
legal acumen. He's been an incredible influence on me as an attorney
and as a man.
I would be remiss, especially given how talented she is as a lawyer, if
I failed to mention my wife, Christina. She's someone who has overcome
incredible challenges in her background and life to become a fabulous
lawyer and leader in the law. Anybody who knows her, I think, draws
a degree of inspiration from the model and example she presents. Her
12 WASHINGTON LAWYER * JULY/AUGUST 2021
partnership has been incredibly important in life. I'm also very lucky to
be surrounded by an incredible family. I have two wonderful kids and a
set of friends that are as true and supportive as anybody could possibly
ask for.
You've been involved with crisis management before, including
work on the Senate Select Committee investigation into the
response to Hurricane Katrina. How does that experience inform
your perspective on leading the Bar during the pandemic?
There are some fundamental lessons that emergency management
professionals learn as they're just coming up. For someone who works in
that field they are basic principles, but for lawyers and even lawyers in
leadership positions, we often don't get a lot of training in those arenas.
Lawyers who are successful in leadership, I think, are just lucky enough
to be in the right place at the right time to get the appropriate experience.
I think that's true of my experience as part of the Katrina invest i -
gation.
We talked to a lot of crisis and emergency management professionals
during the investigation. I spent six months conducting dozens of interviews
of those involved in response efforts, and in doing so some important
principles were revealed to me. One that sticks out is that you don't
want to be exchanging business cards in a crisis. What it's really about is
relationships, relationship building, and timing. Relationships are incredibly
important at an organization like the Bar. Knowing where people are
and what strengths they bring to the table can bring people together in
a way that fills gaps and magnifies the efficacy of a response. And it's
vital to have all of that down before the crisis hits.
Courtesy of Chad T. Sarchio

Washington Lawyer - July/August 2021

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