Senior Partner at O'Melveny & Meyers and supervisor of the Florida recount

The definition of an elder statesman, Christopher earned his law degree in 1949 at Stanford, where he founded the Stanford Law Review. He practiced at O'Melveny & Meyers for eight years before becoming partner, and starting in 1959 he served as special counsel to California Governor Edmund G. Brown. The 1970s found him at the tops of the Los Angeles County, California and American bar associations, and in 1977 he became the Deputy Secretary of State, receiving the Medal of Freedom at the end of his term in 1981. Following the police attack on Rodney King in Los Angeles, Christopher served as chairman of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991. The next year, he headed up Bill Clinton's vice-presidential search.

When Clinton and Gore took office, he oversaw the presidential transition and became Secretary of State in 1993. Four years later, he returned to O'Melveny & Meyers.

Christopher published his memoirs, 'Chances of a Lifetime,' in 2001, summing up a vast political career but generally leaving critics wanting for a more visceral account. "Discretion prevails, and we are left with an informative yet dry history," read a review from Publisher's Weekly. He has continued his position as senior partner at O'Melveny & Meyers.