Clients From Hell

Mr. President, you should have listened to us.

Michael McMenamin from the June 1998 issue

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Why did Clinton choose a defense which ended up jeopardizing his presidency? Who knows? Maybe it was guilt. Or arrogance. Or paranoia. Maybe all three. Trial lawyers have a saying, "Sometimes you win; sometimes the client loses." It's true more often than you think. In the Paula Jones case, his lawyer won, but Clinton lost--if not his presidency, then certainly his place in history. Like a marriage, you rarely know what really goes on between a lawyer and his client. While some may believe that Bob Bennett's inexperience in employment law hurt his client in the early days of the Jones case, Clinton and his wife were sophisticated clients, Yale lawyers both, and no one can doubt they were calling the shots, not their lawyer. "Clients from hell" is the phrase most often uttered by my sisters and brothers at the bar about those who insist on micromanaging every detail of their case. The Clintons got the defense they deserved. It was the country that deserved better.

What Clinton should do now: Put down the drum. Drop the celebratory cigar. Recall Churchill: "In defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity." If Jones appeals, do the honorable thing and settle the case. Pay Jones the damages your lawyers discussed earlier and apologize for the pain the ordeal has caused her. Why? Because Jones has a better than even chance of beating you on appeal. You heard it here first. Sexual harassment law is not what is was four years ago. If the CEO of a Fortune 500 company did today what Clinton is accused of, there are few federal judges who would keep that case from a jury. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has not been a friendly venue for Clinton, even if its record on sexual harassment is a conservative one. As we told you four years ago: "There's always a first time for anything, and the Supreme Court of Michigan has already held that a single incident created a hostile environment."

So, Mr. President, the choice is yours. Listen to REASON. Or not. Try and get it right this time. You're not in Arkansas any more.