Robert ''Bob'' Barnett, Partner, Williams and Connolly LLP Long hours are a part of almost every attorney's life. That's why Robert ''Bob'' Barnett, the man who negotiated Bill Clinton's multi-million dollar book deal, says lawyers should choose a firm based on the people who work there. It's key to like your colleagues, he says, because you're going to be spending a long time with them. ''I think that the best thing to do in making a selection is, first and foremost decide, assuming you're looking at law firms, where do you like the people best,'' he told LawCrossing. ''Where on a daily basis you want to spend X hours with these people. Second, where you think on a daily basis you'll have the most challenging, fun and interesting work. ''Don't talk to old people like me. Talk to associates who are your age and ask them what they do and ask them how they spend their day and see if that appeals to you,'' he said. Barnett, a partner at Williams & Connolly, clearly likes his colleagues - he's been with the firm since 1975. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1971, he spent a year clerking for Judge John Minor Wisdom at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He then spent another year as a clerk for Justice Byron White before going to work for two years for then-Senator Walter Mondale. ''A clerkship is a great thing to do after law school, whether you're going to be a litigator or not,'' Barnett said. ''It's a fabulous experience working with a judge, learning how the court systems work. Working in a U.S. Attorney's office or working in another government position can be a great sort of early experience, generally short-term before you decide what to do next.'' The 57-year-old attorney's experience with Mondale was one of many high-profile political connections he made along the way, and also led to his work in the publishing world. Mondale eventually ran for president with Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. ''In 1984, I ran the debate preparation team for Geraldine Ferraro, who was the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, and after the election, even though they lost, Mrs. Ferraro was in great demand having been the first woman on a national party ticket,'' he said. ''One of the things she decided to do was write a book. And she hired me to be her attorney on all matters.'' After finding Ferraro an agent and helping to negotiate her deal, Barnett decided to pursue more writers for clients. ''When David Stockman, who was budget director for President Reagan, left the administration I auditioned to do his book deal,'' which he won. ''And then I'd done one Democrat, one Republican and then I began doing a lot of political books. From there I branched out into business books and sports books and some fiction and other things and one thing led to another and probably I have 200 authors I represent.'' In partisan Washington, Barnett says being a Democrat has not hurt his chances with Republican clients. ''People don't hire me for my politics, they hire me to be their lawyer. That's why I have Hillary Clinton and Lynn Cheney and why I have Robert Bork and Geraldine Ferraro and why I have people from the Bush administration and the Clinton administration,'' he said. ''They hire me for my skills as a lawyer, not because I'm a Democrat.'' And he's been in the news in recent weeks for reportedly getting Bill Clinton a massive $10 million advance for his book, My Life, which set non-fiction sales records when it was released last week. ''Books are really about 10 percent of my practice,'' said Barnett. ''Most of what I do is litigation and corporate work, representing individuals and companies. But the books tend to be in the press a lot, which is why people know about it, but it's really only a small part of my practice.'' Barnett has represented corporate giants, including McDonald's, General Electric, Toyota and Deutsche among others. He also represents high-profile journalists, including Christiane Amanpour, Brit Hume, Andrea Mitchell and his wife, CBS correspondent Rita Braver. They have a 26-year-old daughter. ''I wasn't smart enough to be a doctor and I hated the sight of blood,'' Barnett jokes of his decision to study law. ''And I wasn't tall enough or big enough to be a professional basketball player and after I eliminated all those things, all that was left was the law. It wasn't some grandiose scheme. I just thought that a legal education would be interesting, would teach me how to think, teach me how to write and open up a lot of possibilities. ''I didn't come into the practice along with a grand plan. I thought that the work would be interesting and challenging and I like the people and of course the first day I started the job I didn't have the practice that I have now. You develop it over time and gather clients and work in different areas and help build your law firm, so it's very much a step-by-step process, not a grandiose scheme.'' In his day, he says, lawyers didn't change jobs as much. ''People as old as me, they tend to be at one place forever. I think it's a generational thing. I think for new attorneys coming into the job market, there are so many exciting possibilities and people nowadays I think are adventuresome and much more experimental than we were when I was young.'' When asked what he liked most about his job, Barnett said, ''helping people.'' ''When my daughter was little somebody asked her 'what does your dad do,' and she said 'help people.' And I don't know if that was true, but it's certainly a good thing to strive for and when you can help someone get out of trouble, in the context of a criminal case where they shouldn't be in trouble, or do a contract where there are certain needs and you can help fulfill them or solve a problem with a government agency, you feel as if you've helped the individual or the corporation meet their goals or objectives and that's what they hire you to do.''

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