Legal Pad was wondering whether former State Bar President Jeffrey Bleich had made any headlines as the new U.S. ambassador to the Land Down Under. He’s been there a few weeks. [Corrected 11/13: We were mistaken; Bleich is not there yet. To Legal Pad’s embarrassment, Amy Merriweather, the L.A.-based practice development director at Munger, Tolles & Olson, e-mailed to tell us as much. Bleich — a partner with the firm — wasn’t confirmed until Monday, Merriweather explained, and will be officially sworn in on Nov. 20 in San Francisco. As punishment, Legal Pad will consume a full jar of that horrible-tasting Vegemite so beloved by our Aussie mates.]
So we Googled “Jeffrey Bleich + Australia.” Nothing newsy came up, but one item did catch our attention.
Posted in mid-September by someone disguising himself as “beagleone,” it was headlined: “What’s the dirt on Jeffrey Bleich?”
“I’m in Australia and I’m trying to research this lib. Van Jones style dirt would be awesome, but I’ll settle for just super-lib stuff.”
No dirt, but a defender from across the aisle … after the jump.
Among the responses was one from Shelly Sloan, the guy who preceded Bleich as State Bar president.
“Sorry to disappoint,” Sloan — a registered Republican, a Reagan appointee when he was on the L.A. bench and a moderate conservative who’s been known to clash with a few folks — told “beagleone.”
“Jeff and I voted almost identically on every issue we discussed for three years,” he wrote. “We occasionally disagreed as to how to word a position, but the differences were nuanced only and not policy differences.”
“Jeff Bleich is a wonderful human being,” Sloan said, “and Australia is lucky to have him.”
“If you are looking for dirt,” he concluded, “look somewhere else. You won’t find it on him.”
That’s Shelly. Loyal to friends!
But as a big George W. Bush fan, he did not have such kind words for Barack Obama. Check out this link.
— Mike McKee
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