48 FALL 2008

JEFF BLEICH—FINDING COMMON GROUNDClaire Cooper

Jeff Bleich’s connection to Barack Obamagoes back almost twenty years, to the daywhen Abner Mikva, then chief judge ofthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the District

of Columbia Circuit and Bleich’s boss, inter-viewed Obama as a possible hire. Impressed,Mikva remarked to Bleich that Obama wasexactly the kind of clerk he wanted to recruit.

“Instead of me?” asked Bleich. To his chagrin,Mikva agreed.

Obama never did clerk for Mikva, but he andBleich, now a partner at Munger Tolles &Olson, developed a lasting relationship.

Bleich, with Bill Orrick, founded Lawyers forObama before Obama announced his candi-dacy for president. Bleich says he introducedObama around as somebody to watch. Therecan be no doubt that the photo of the twomen on display in Bleich’s office was takenright there—Bleich’s life-size cutout of ayouthful Elvis Presley is in the shot.

Obama, of course, rocketed to prominencewith his keynote address at the 2004 Demo-cratic National Convention. Bleich attendedthe convention, and the two men had break-fast two days later. Obama, trying to tamp

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THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 49

down enthusiasm for himself as a future presidential con-tender, reminded Bleich that he had yet to be elected tothe Senate and prove himself there.

The enthusiasm did not fade, however.

Fast-forward four years. Here’s Obama, running for pres-ident. Here’s Bleich, serving as a cochair of his Californiacampaign. Bleich also is a finance cochair for NorthernCalifornia, a member of Obama’s national finance com-mittee, and a member of his higher education group.

Bleich traveled to Iowa, Indiana, and Texas for Obama,working to protect votes and voters at the polls and in a central “boiler room” equipped with phones and computers.

His Obama activity alone would have made for a busyyear. However, he did all that while promoting an activeprogram as president of the State Bar of California.

Interviewed near the end of his bar term, Bleich admit-ted, “I’m not getting a lot of sleep this year.”

He reflected on his achievements and the bar’s over thepast ten months.

High on the list: implementation of acouple of legislative measures to fundlegal services for the poor. Bleich ne-gotiated with banks to raise the inter-est rate paid on lawyers’ trustaccounts—IOLTA funds that go tothe bar for legal services programs—to equal the rates being paid on otherinvestment products. The legislationis expected to increase IOLTA fund-ing by 30 to 40 percent. As the resultof other legislation, which allows thebar to raise voluntary contributionsfrom its members through a checkoffon their dues statements, the bar bymidsummer had raised $1 million for

distribution to more than a hundred nonprofits.

For many years the bar has had tough sledding at the statecapital, and Bleich said Sacramento was “a hard environ-ment.” But several bills moved forward during his barpresidency, including one seeking legislative approval toassess lawyers to buy a bar building in Los Angeles.

Assemblyman Dave Jones, a Sacramento Democrat whocarried bills for the bar in the legislature, praised Bleich’sability to explain the importance of the bar’s work to non-lawyer legislators.

“He has a very thoughtful and direct manner, but he’s alsogot a great sense of humor,” Jones said. “He finds humorin situations to put people at their ease.”

In other bar business Bleich launched a task force to studythe attorney discipline system and determine whether thebar’s lawyers have been going after the cases that affectpublic confidence, as Bleich believes they should, or justthe easy cases that are less important to the public and theprofession. He pushed for more active investigation ofprosecutors for abuses such as withholding exculpatoryevidence. Three misconduct cases against prosecutors werebrought to trial.

Bleich launched a sustainability taskforce to propose conservation meas-ures, noting in his monthly column inthe California Bar Journal that a typicallarge-firm attorney consumes aboutone page of paper for each minute ofbillable time.

He also promoted and provided conti-nuity for programs initiated by hispredecessors, among them a legal advo-cacy program for children in or leavingfoster care, a diversity pipeline projectto interest minority youngsters in legalcareers, and a civility initiative formembers of the legal profession.

BLEICH NEGOTIATED

WITH BANKS TO RAISE

THE INTEREST RATE PAID

ON LAWYERS’ TRUST

ACCOUNTS—IOLTA FUNDS

THAT GO TO THE BAR

FOR LEGAL SERVICES

PROGRAMS—TO EQUAL

THE RATES BEING

PAID ON OTHER

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS.

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50 FALL 2008

Ruthe Ashley, who chaired the State Bar’s pipeline taskforce in 2005–06, remarked at Bleich’s strong support forthe program she started. The president and CEO of Cal-ifornia ALL, Ashley ran against Bleich for the bar’s top joba year ago.

Glenn Smith, who observed Bleich’s performance from theperspective of a local bar leader, said beefing up the IOLTAfund “was huge for the bar at a time when banks are pay-ing less interest.”

Bleich’s deftest achievement may have been separating hisbar duties from his Obama responsibilities. He made aspecial point not to talk about his politics during any bar activity.

Smith, the Sonoma County barpresident, described himself asbeing on the opposite side of thepolitical spectrum, but he saysBleich carried it off well. “Ratherthan talking about our differ-ences, Jeff immediately bringsthe discussion to commonground and the politics dropsout of it,” said Smith. He calledBleich “passionate about the lawand compassionate about peo-ple,” adding, not entirely in jest,“He’s my new best friend.”

Jeff and wife Becky Bleich spenttwo days in Sonoma County inJune, fulfilling Jeff ’s vow to visit

each of the State Bar’s nine districts. They attended thecounty bar’s Summer Soirée, and Jeff fished for bass withSmith and other local bar leaders. Smith lent Bleich a fishfor the customary dockside photo. “He’s gotta be a betterlawyer than he is a fisherman,” the Santa Rosa lawyer said.

Matter of fact, during his year as bar president, Bleich wona unanimous state Supreme Court decision adopting a “so-phisticated user” defense to negate a manufacturer’s dutyto warn of a product’s potential danger when a victimshould have known of inherent hazards. He also won a fa-vorable bench ruling in a patent case.

With his term as bar president drawing to a close, Bleich,forty-seven, is looking forward to a quieter time. He passes

the gavel to Holly Fujie in Sep-tember. The national election willbe over in November. “Then I geta lot of hours back,” Bleich says.

When he was interviewed for thisarticle, Bleich was about to starta term as president of the Califor-nia State University board oftrustees, so he may find he hasthose hours back only temporar-ily, but while he has them, hesays, “I’m going to devote themto the kids”—two teenage sonsand a young daughter.

Jeff Bleich and his big fish.

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