Lawyer of the Day: Jane Willis
Picking our Lawyer of the Day was easy. Today the winning hand belongs to Ropes & Gray partner Jane Willis. From the Boston Globe:
Jane Willis was always a standout student. Her reputation as a math whiz was well known at Phillips Exeter and Harvard, where she graduated in 1991 with a lofty recommendation from Lawrence Summers.But no one suspected how Willis was using those skills, and she wasn’t about to tell. Even as a partner at a high-powered Boston law firm, she has kept her curious back story to herself.
“Sounds weird to say, but it just never came up,” Willis says, sipping a draft beer in a hotel bar not far from her office at One International Place.
She likes beer? Ick. Why not some fine wine or top-shelf liquor? But Jane Willis is not your ordinary Biglaw partner:
She might still be mum if not for 21, the new movie about MIT’s celebrated blackjack team. Willis, it turns out, was a member of the card-counting cadre that beat the casinos and, later, inspired the best-selling book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. In the film, which opens Friday, Kate Bosworth’s character is based on Willis.
How cool is that? We like the casting of Bosworth; there’s definitely a resemblance (see photos; Willis is on the left).
More after the jump.
Now a high-powered commercial and antitrust litigatrix, Jane Willis harbors fond memories of her card-playing days:
It’s been a decade since she was a practicing card shark, and she’s proud of her tenure on the team.“We didn’t do anything dishonest or fraudulent. We were good kids,” she says. “It’s totally legal to use your brain.”
Indeed — and that’s what clients pay Willis the big bucks for today. She has oodles of accolades under the belt of her pantsuit, including recognition from Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Top 50 Women Lawyers.
Willis, 38, who grew up in Mount Vernon, Ill., had never played blackjack when she joined the team in the early 1990s. Then a student at Harvard Law School, Willis and her boyfriend were both “math geeks.” They were also friends with Jeff Ma, an MIT student who was one of the ringleaders of the school’s clandestine blackjack club.“Jeff would occasionally have an expensive bottle of wine or champagne, and it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Then he told us about Vegas,” Willis says. “I think it dawned on him that we could play blackjack and also give the team, which was mostly Asian and male, a little diversity.”
…. Willis had the advantage of being a woman. Security at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand, and other Las Vegas casinos was always on the lookout for card counters but rarely suspected female patrons.
“I could almost count out loud and not get caught,” she says.
An object lesson in the value of diversity. Did you catch that, Biglaw partners?
Count Her Out [Boston Globe]
Jane Willis bio [Ropes & Gray]
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Very Very cool. But unless she skipped 3 years of school, a law school graduate who goes straight from college to Law school and graduates in 1991 is not 38 years old. Did she lie about her age, graduate from her prep school at 15 or finish at Harvard in 1 year while playing Blackjack?
"there's definitely a resemblance"
Yeah, there's definitely a chance they're both female.
Ropes & Gray?
why do you have to hate the suds? seriously.
Ah yes, 21- a movie based on a predominantly Asian American group of poker players, but played by a predominantly white cast on the big screen. I'll probably love it just as much as The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise.
Another great mind wasted by going to law school.
I know Jane - she is definately no Kate Bosworth. She is, however, a very nice person and a well respected lawyer, both at Ropes and in Boston.
I never knew she was involved in this whole thing - news to me!
@ 4:20: nothing is worse than a clever "first" post that is not actually first.
@ 4:25, 4:26: they played blackjack, not poker. Also, you only need to hit "post" once.
Stupid question - but is this illegal? Why would she be talking about it now? SOL?
Counting cards is not illegal.
Card counting is not illegal. The casinos can kick you out, and will blacklist you, but you won't be arrested for it.
I don't think you need to point out that Kate Bosworth is pictured on the right.
@ 4:35: No. Because it's not. There is none.
4:22 -- She graduated Harvard *undergrad* in '91. Ropes hasn't lowered its standards enough to have a partner with only a single degree from Harvard. How else could they be a Boston firm?
Litigatrix. Nice.
Card counting is not illegal, if you get caught though the casinos ban you.
She graduated Harvard undergad in 1991 and then law school in 1994. Completely plausible she is 38 today. Next time, why don't you blame the ambiguous writing and not the subject for any confusion.
They still rarely look for women card counters.
Come off it, Lat ... craft beer is the new wine; few places is this more true than in Boston.
She graduated Harvard undergad in 1991 and then law school in 1994. Completely plausible she is 38 today. Next time, why don't you blame the ambiguous writing and not the subject for any confusion.
4:22 wins this post
Which one is hitting Owen Wilson? I am guessing the one on the left. Where did Owen Wilson pick up a love for playing poker with Chinois?
4:35: Did I lose count 20 cards ago, dude?
4:26, please give credit to Paul Mooney for that stolen joke
I am confused - I went to MIT and heard directly that no women were involved in the group, and that they added the Kate Bosworth character in the movie.
Now beer is bad? Huh?
5:12, heard "directly" from whom?
Oh, Willis is on the left -- thanks for the clarification, I was wondering which one was the movie star.
You heard of the Seattle Seven? Yeah; me and six other guys.
to 5:19 - from one of the members of the group.
super cool. i want to work for her. tis should be used for recruiting at law school
"She likes beer? Ick. "
You never cease to amaze me, Lat.
@5:12/6:05
I played blackjack with Jane. She was definitely on the team and is super smart. The team had a couple women on it (the character Kianna is also based on a real person). The team also split several times, but some I know the other team had women on it as well.
That said...it was predominantly male. Just like MIT.
I worked for Jane as a paralegal before going to law school, she's 'incredibly nice and incredibly hard working. I would have never guessed she was a part of this.
They are going to find this lady and make her EAT A CASINO CHIP@!!!
FIRE LEVMORE
Jeff Ma = Asian Guy
Jane Willis = White Girl
In the movie, the characters based on them are the 2 main people, and they get it on.
Did Jeff Ma tap Jane Willis spring break style???
Yeah, the resemblance is freakin' staggering . . .
If I went to UVA, can I get a job at Ropes and Gray?
Moojumbo: yes you can.
She is a really nice lady.
Damn, she likes beer and is counsel to the Red Sox? If she was the one on the right, she'd be just about perfect. (Lat -- the Red Sox play baseball.)
She seems pretty cool.
4:42: Excellent point.
9:35: "Just about perfect"? Ha ha. Neither of these women would have your sorry ass, I'm sure.
Card counting isn't illegal. If as the book and movie suggest they used multiple false IDs to stay below the radar of the casinos, didn't they engage in tax fraud?