In Fireside Chat, Doug Emhoff Reflects on Time as Second Gentleman and Lessons from Legal Practice
April 10, 2025
Former Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff joined Dean Treanor for a fireside chat in the newly renovated Hart Auditorium.
Former Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff joined Dean William M. Treanor and members of the Georgetown Law community on April 1 to discuss his legal career and its influence on his role in the Biden-Harris administration as well as the pressing issues facing lawyers and law students today. They also talked about his time as a Distinguished Visitor from Practice on the Georgetown Law faculty.
“This is a real inflection point in our world right now,” said Emhoff, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and distinguished fellow of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy, in response to a question about current challenges to the rule of law. “The rule of law is under attack, democracy is under attack … all of us lawyers need to do what we can to push back on that.”
Emhoff, who joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 2021, taught courses on entertainment disputes during the last three academic years.
He also taught an introductory course on alternative dispute resolution, an approach, he told the audience, that is particularly valuable for lawyers and the next generation of legal professionals. “As lawyers we’re taught to orate,” he said, “but you’ve got to listen and actually hear what [others] are saying.”
Emhoff also reflected on how his career litigating high-stakes media, entertainment and intellectual property matters helped prepare him for his role in the Biden-Harris administration, including leading a U.S. Presidential Delegation at the 2024 Olympic Games and leading White House efforts to combat antisemitism, including through the creation of the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
Emhoff reflected on his career and offered advice to the law students in the audience.
“All those skills were really invaluable,” he said of how the lessons from his 30-year legal career — among them the ability to stay calm under pressure and present one’s point of view with confidence — helped him in his role as Second Gentleman and, later, in lending his support to his wife, former Vice President Kamala Harris, during the 2024 Harris-Walz presidential campaign.
Emhoff similarly offered advice for the law students in the audience as they prepare to enter practice, urging those in attendance to say yes to challenging opportunities and to overcome the fear of making mistakes.
“That’s how you’re really going to shine, by taking those chances,” he advised, noting that with the rise of technology such as artificial intelligence, young lawyers have an added mandate to prove themselves as strategic thinkers and client advocates. “Push yourself — don’t put yourself in this imaginary box.”
In response to the final question of the night, about the most interesting behind-the-scenes detail about his time as Second Gentleman, Emhoff revealed a bit of household trivia about Number One Observatory Circle, the vice president’s official residence in Washington, D.C.
Outgoing vice presidents, Emhoff explained, traditionally leave something behind to improve the residence for its future inhabitants (a practice that included former Vice President Walter Mondale, who installed a pool).
His family’s contribution? “We put in an outdoor barbecue and pizza oven,” he said. “You want to leave it in better shape than you found it.”