Editing Vince Foster (section)

== Career ==
===Lawyer in Arkansas===
In 1971, Foster joined [[Rose Law Firm]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]],<ref name="lh">[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], ''[[Living History (book)|Living History]]'', [[Simon & Schuster]], 2003, {{ISBN|0-7432-2224-5}}, pp. 78–81.</ref> and in 1974 was made partner,<ref name="starr-bio"/> one of only nine in the firm at the time.<ref name="bernstein-book"/> He was the head of the [[Arkansas Bar Association]] committee that oversaw [[legal aid]], and as such worked with legal aid clinic worker [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]] in successfully overcoming an unreasonable measuring requirement for indigent clients.<ref name="lh"/> Foster then initiated the hiring of Rodham at Rose Law Firm, where she became its first ever female associate<ref name="lh"/> (and later first female partner); Foster and fellow partner [[Webster Hubbell]] were instrumental in overcoming the reluctance of other partners to hire a woman.<ref name="bernstein-book">{{cite book|first=Carl|last=Bernstein|authorlink=Carl Bernstein|title=A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton|year=2007 |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-375-40766-6|pages=123–31}}</ref> The hiring occurred soon after Bill Clinton was elected [[attorney general of Arkansas]], which led Clinton and Rodham to move from Fayetteville to Little Rock.<ref name="bernstein-book"/> Foster and Rodham worked together on a number of cases.<ref name="eahc"/> And as Bill Clinton's political career gained force, Foster supported him.<ref name="bill-15"/> They were also personal friends and Foster was the one who taught their daughter [[Chelsea Clinton]] how to swim.<ref name="bill-15"/>

[[File:RoseLawFirmRearCorner2008.jpg|thumb|left|[[Rose Law Firm]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], where Foster worked for two decades]]
Foster practiced mostly [[corporate law]],<ref name="nyt082293">{{cite news|first=Jason|last=DeParle|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DD173FF931A1575BC0A965958260|title=A Life Undone: Portrait of a White House Aide Ensnared by His Perfectionism|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 22, 1993|accessdate=July 29, 2007}}</ref> eventually earning nearly $300,000 a year.<ref name="nyt082293"/> Known for his extensive preparation of cases ahead of time, including the creation of [[decision tree]]s,<ref name="wapo-dvd"/> Foster developed a reputation as one of the best trial litigators in Arkansas.<ref name="eahc"/> Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir calls Foster "one of the best lawyers I've ever known," and compared him in style and substance to [[Gregory Peck]]'s portrayal of [[Atticus Finch]] in the classic 1962 film ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]''.<ref name="lh"/> In Bill Clinton's memoir, he characterizes Foster as "a tall, handsome, wise, good man."<ref name="bill-15"/> Writer [[Carl Bernstein]] has described Foster as "tall, with impeccable manners and a formal mien ... elegant in perfectly tailored suits, and soft-spoken to the point of taciturnity."<ref name="bernstein-book"/> Writer [[Dan Moldea]] characterized him as "a 'can-do' lawyer who worked best when under pressure."<ref name="moldea"/> Phillip Carroll, the leading litigator at Rose Law Firm, once said of Foster, "He was my ideal of a young lawyer."<ref name="abaj"/> The ''[[ABA Journal]]'' reported that Foster was "acknowledged by many as the soul of the firm".<ref name="abaj">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qs2Z6HdA0S8C&pg=PA46 | title=From Bum's Rush to Bum Rap | first=Terry | last=Carter | magazine=[[ABA Journal]] | date=July 1998 | page=46}}</ref>

He appeared to experience only success at Rose Law; a partner later said, "I never saw a professional setback. Never. Not even a tiny one."<ref name="nyt082293"/> The firm grew five times its size during his time there.<ref name="wapo-dvd"/> The Arkansas Bar Association gave him a number of awards<ref name="k-r-stunned">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19930722&id=19ZPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6595,872139 | title=Legal aide's suicide stuns president | first1=Aaron | last1=Epstein | first2=Frank | last2=Greve | agency=[[Knight-Ridder Newspapers]] | newspaper=[[Ocala Star-Banner]] | date=July 22, 1993 | page=4A}}</ref> and in June 1993 would name him as its Outstanding Lawyer of the Year.<ref name="moldea">{{cite book | title=A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm | first=Dan E. | last=Moldea | author-link=Dan Moldea | publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]] {{!}} Washington, D.C.| year=1998 | pages=62–63, 402n | isbn=0-89526-382-3 }}</ref> He was also listed in the ''Best Lawyers in America'' book.<ref name="wapo-dvd"/> His wife Lisa described him as driven to prevail, staying up around the clock to prepare for big cases, believing he would lose the case even though he rarely did; she later viewed this as an early sign of depressed behavior.<ref name="nykr-boyer"/>

By 1992, Vince Foster was, as ''[[The Washington Post]]'' later wrote, at "the pinnacle of the Arkansas legal establishment."<ref name="wapo070194">{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/stories/wwtr940701.htm| title=Foster's Death a Suicide| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| first1=David| last1=Von Drehle| author-link=David Von Drehle| first2=Howard| last2=Schneider| date=July 1, 1994| access-date=March 31, 2009| page=A01| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205081439/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/stories/wwtr940701.htm| archive-date=February 5, 2012}}</ref> He was also an established figure in Little Rock society, serving as the chair of the board of the [[Arkansas Repertory Theatre]] and belonging to the exclusive Country Club of Little Rock.<ref name="wapo-dvd"/>

===White House counsel===
After [[1992 United States presidential election|Clinton's 1992 election]], Foster joined Clinton's presidential transition team.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> Once Clinton was inaugurated, Foster joined his [[White House]] staff as [[Deputy White House Counsel]] in early 1993.<ref name="starr-bio" /> This was despite Foster's initial reluctance to leave his Little Rock life behind and come to Washington.<ref name="nykr-boyer" /><ref name="wapo-dvd" /> There he worked under the [[White House Counsel]], [[Bernard W. Nussbaum]], although Nussbaum would consider the pair to be "co-senior partners".<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> He was also joined with two other Rose Law Firm partners, [[William H. Kennedy, III]], who served as his associate counsel, and [[Webster Hubbell]], who became [[United States Associate Attorney General|Associate Attorney General]].<ref name="salon-rl">{{cite news | url=http://www.salon.com/1998/07/27/newsa_5/ | title=Victim of circumstance | first=Mollie | last=Dickenson | magazine=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] | date=July 27, 1998}}</ref> The Foster residence was a small rented house in [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="wapo-dvd" />

Foster had difficulty making the transition to life and politics in Washington.<ref name="wapo070194" /> Unlike some other Clinton-associated figures, he had no experience with campaigns or electoral politics.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> His wife and youngest son were not with him, having stayed behind in Arkansas so the son could complete his senior year<!-- sources differ junior or senior but based on a WaPo quote, senior seems more likely--> of high school at [[Catholic High School for Boys (Little Rock, Arkansas)|Catholic High]] in Little Rock.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /><ref name="text" /> His initial role was in vetting potential administration appointees.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> As one subject of the vetting process later said, "I wondered why I was being interviewed by the guy who would be deputy counsel. Seemed his job was to find out how honest I was, and what level of ego I was bringing. It's a measure of how much the Clintons trusted him."<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> But Foster found this involvement in vetting appointments to be causing him [[depression (mood)|depression]] and [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]].<ref name="wapo070194" /> In particular, he blamed himself for the failed [[Zoë Baird]] nomination;<ref name="wapo070194" /> he had thought that Baird had been justified in following her lawyer's advice regarding the payment of taxes on household employees, but he had failed to anticipate the political backlash that led to it becoming known as "[[Nannygate]]" and that blemished the early days of the administration.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> The equally unsuccessful [[Kimba Wood]] and [[Lani Guinier]] appointments were also under Foster's purview.<ref name="encyclo-ic" /> He had to resign from the Country Club of Little Rock once its all-white membership became a political issue for others in the administration.<ref name="wapo-dvd" />

As Deputy Counsel, Foster was also involved in a range of other matters, including preparation of [[executive order]]s, analyzing the legal effect of various policies, examining international treaties, discussing the ramifications of [[War Powers Resolution|authorizations for use of military force]], and authorizing expenditures within the White House.<ref name="wapo-dvd" /> Foster worked on placing the Clintons' financial holdings into a [[blind trust]].<ref name="wapo-dvd" />

He handled the Clintons' [[Madison Guaranty]] and [[Industrial Development Corporation]] paperwork<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[PBS]]|location= WGBH educational foundation|work=[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/arkansas/docs/recs.html|title=Rose Law Firm billing records}}</ref> and also several [[Whitewater controversy|Whitewater]]-related [[Tax return (United States)|tax returns]].<ref name="nyt080695">[[Jeff Gerth]] and Stephen Labaton, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DB1631F935A3575BC0A963958260 "Whitewater Papers Cast Doubt on Clinton Account of a Tax Underpayment"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 6, 1995. Accessed April 30, 2007.</ref> He worked twelve-hour days, six or seven days a week, and although thin to begin with, began losing weight.<ref name="wapo-dvd"/><ref name="gormley"/>

On May 8, 1993, Foster gave the commencement address at the University of Arkansas Law School, his alma mater, and said:

{{blockquote|The reputation you develop for intellectual and ethical integrity will be your greatest asset or your worst enemy. You will be judged by your judgment. ... Treat every pleading, every brief, every contract, every letter, every daily task as if your career will be judged on it ... There is no victory, no advantage, no fee, no favor, which is worth even a blemish on your reputation for intellect and integrity. ... Dents to the reputation in the legal profession are irreparable.<ref name="text">{{cite book|author-first=Ronald W. | author-last=Maris|author2-first=Alan L. | author2-last=Berman|author3-first=Morton M. |author3-last=Silverman|title=Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology|publisher=[[Guilford Press]]|year=2000|isbn=1-57230-541-X|pages=280–81}}</ref><ref name="wapo-dvd"/>}}

One faculty member listening to it recalled telling another that it was "the most depressing graduation speech I had ever heard, in both content and manner."<ref name="gormley"/> A friend of Foster's has said, "Look, it's just crazy, right? You get one dent and it can never be fixed? In Washington, you get them all the time. You get twenty dents and you go to the body shop. Vince couldn't see that, apparently."<ref name="wapo-dvd"/>