Because I knew when I graduated from law school in 1981 that I wanted an international career (I had served in the Peace Corps just after college and had lived for 2 years in South Korea), I only considered job offers from firms that I thought provided a path toward that goal. I chose the firm that at that time was called Sidley & Austin and now goes by Sidley Austin because it was one of the largest firms in Chicago, it had international clients, and it was just beginning to open overseas offices. I made the right choice.
After two years of excellent training from some of the best lawyers in the country, I was asked to move to the firm’s Singapore office–back to Asia, where I wanted to be. It was a great experience. I finally left the firm in 1994 because I wanted to do international development work rather than straight private client legal work, but I’ve always considered Sidley “my firm.”
Anyway, the communications people at the firm have begun interviewing alumni and the profile they did is available here: Alum Clifford Garstang: From International Lawyer to Literary Award Winner.
