Brett J. Hart
Brett J. Hart understands the importance of setting a good example—and having one. Early in life, he was influenced by the positive examples of mentors.
“I decided at a relatively young age that I wanted to pursue a law career,” he says. “Although there were no lawyers in my family at the time, my parents took care to expose me to family friends who were lawyers. I also recall reading and hearing about lawyers in the African-American community who were making significant contributions to a wide range of matters in both the public and private sectors. These individuals were not limiting themselves to the traditional practice of law—they were also entrepreneurs, social activists, academics and so on.”
Currently an associate litigator for Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago, Hart has benefited from the influence and expertise of his colleagues and managers. “As a minority lawyer, it ís particularly important to identify and rely on strong mentors, and to serve as an equally strong mentor to others. We work in extremely fast-paced environments that can be unforgiving of even minor mistakes. Regardless of how talented you may be, some obstacles would be virtually insurmountable without direction from individuals genuinely interested and involved in your development. I’ve been very fortunate in this respect.”
Hart was raised in Cassopolis, a small town tucked in the southwest corner of Michigan. His self-employed parents strongly encouraged him to seek a college education. During high school summer breaks, Hart worked in the construction industry with his contractor father. “I knew that my father’s main objective in putting me on construction sites at 6:00 a.m. was to ensure I developed a strong work ethic and I understood what awaited me if I opted not to attend college.”
Hart attended the University of Michigan, and majored in philosophy and English literature. During his first semester, he volunteered to speak to terminally ill patients at the University of Michigan hospital. Hart adds, “That was the single best decision I made during my four years at Michigan. Sitting and speaking to those patients helped me put my experiences into proper perspective.”
Because Hart envisioned launching his legal practice in a large progressive city with a thriving legal community, he chose to attend the Law School at the University of Chicago. While there, Hart interned at the Mandel Legal Clinic, representing indigent clients before the Illinois Human Rights Commission. “This was my first opportunity to represent other peoples’ interests in litigation. The clinic provided the advantage of practicing with and learning from talented lawyers who were intensely committed to their clients.” His work with Mandel became the catalyst for his career choice.
Between his second and third years of law school, Hart was a summer associate with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Desiring a firm with a sophisticated and diverse litigation practice, he joined Sonnenschein after law school in 1994, convinced that he would receive the level of training, exposure and opportunities critical to his development. As a junior associate, Hart was involved with a significant amount of class action, products liability, commercial and insurance defense cases, working on a range of matters for McDonalds Corporation, Prudential Securities, BASF and The Prudential Insurance Company of America.
In choosing Sonnenschein, Hart also was concerned about working for a firm with established African-American partners and associates. “I relied heavily on [then-partners] Rick Palmore and Everett Ward, both of whom provided their own unique perspectives on the practice and invaluable guidance.”
In fact, Hart had met Palmore in summer 1992 while clerking at Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. “As I grew to know Brett, I saw he was a very bright, personable attorney with a great future, all of which impressed me tremendously,” recalls Palmore, now General Counsel at Sara Lee. “And I really liked him as a person, which was an important part of his professional development. I think he has a terrific future ahead of him. He possesses the potential, intellectual capacity and personal skills to do whatever he wants, and he also has the drive and ambition. In other words, he has the entire package.”
During his early years with Sonnenschein, Hart wanted to give back to the community, remembering how important mentors had been for him. He served as a member of the United Way Crusade of Mercy’s Government Affairs Advisory Committee and the Chicago Boys and Girls Club’s Partners for Youth Committee.
About a year and a half after he joined Sonnenschein, Hart met Edward Knight, then General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Treasury, through a mutual friend and former Treasury official who thought Hart would make an excellent Special Assistant to the General Counsel. Though Knight already had identified another individual for the position, Hart remained in contact with Knight, and when the position became available again, he convinced Knight that his experience with Sonnenschein had prepared him adequately to join the Treasury.
Hart served as Knight’s senior advisor, working with Knight and others to provide counsel to then-Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Rubin.
“On my first day,” Hart says, “the market dropped nearly 500 points, and Secretary Rubin took the unprecedented measure of going out to the Treasury building steps to speak to the media and calm the American public. At the end of the day, then-Deputy General Counsel (and current General Counsel) Neal Wolin, a fellow Chicagoan, jokingly declared that the downturn in the market and my first day at Treasury were clearly related and suggested that I return to private practice.
Despite this coincidence, Knight found Hart to be one of the most outstanding lawyers with whom he had worked. “At Treasury, every day was a new challenge, requiring immediate action on highly sensitive issues. I could always count on Brett to spring to action on a moment’s call. He was indispensable to me in serving the Secretary of the Treasury, and I miss his good counsel here at the NASD.”
During his two years at Treasury, Hart continued to find opportunities to set a good example. “The Treasury Department assisted in the development of a law academy at Eastern High School in Washington, D.C. I worked with the academy on moot court competitions, summer job opportunities, lectures and mentoring and served on the Advisory Council.”
Hart considered staying in Washington following his time at Treasury, but he ultimately decided to return to Chicago—and specifically, to Sonnenschein—which presented the best opportunity to maximize his legal skills and build a practice. “I was convinced that Sonnenschein would take the necessary steps to assist me in developing my practice. I was already familiar with the firm’s excellent clientele and the breadth of its practice. It was the ability to pursue the business development aspect of the practice and the knowledge that there were individuals, both within and outside of my practice area, who were genuinely interested in my personal and professional development, that ultimately sealed my decision to return to Sonnenschein.”
Hart currently represents clients in a wide range of litigation matters in state and federal court. He has considerable experience in the areas of complex consumer actions, business torts, products liability, insurance and securities and shareholder litigation. He also is active in pro bono matters related to post-conviction death penalty proceedings.
“We were thrilled to have Brett rejoin us from Treasury,” says Robert Johnson, chair of Sonnenschein’s Litigation and Business Regulation practice group. “He is a very smart and talented litigator who likes to roll up his sleeves and get the job done.”
Hart also remains committed to creating opportunities and examples for those around him. “As a previous and current member of the firm’s hiring committee, I know that the firm is committed to hiring and retaining minority lawyers. Sonnenschein, in recognition of the need to increase diversity, has committed significant resources and energy to develop initiatives aimed not only at hiring, but retaining and promoting minority attorneys. The firm recognizes the benefits that a diverse workforce provides, not only from a cultural perspective, but from a quality of work and business development perspective as well. I have no doubt that in the coming year the firm will further distinguish itself in this area.”
From the May 2000 issue of Diversity & The Bar®