Still grateful after all these years.

• Author: Tchen, Christina M.
• Position: First Arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States

I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner in 1991 with more than hunger pangs rumbling my stomach. The next day I was off to Washington to make final preparations for my first (and, to date, only) argument before the United States Supreme Court. I fondly recall the evening as a "girlfriends" Thanksgiving: Preparing for a Supreme Court argument is a single-minded exercise, so I did not travel to see family, and my three-year-old son was already with my ex-husband for the next five days. For this Thanksgiving dinner, I was with my Chicago girlfriends who were also far from their families.

There could have been no better support group for me that evening. I was not good company. I was nearing the end of several weeks of intensive, monastic focus on the case and the body of law at issue in our argument before the Court. I was headed out of town for what I knew would be one of the most significant one-hour events of my life. I hadn't thought of anything else in days.

The case was difficult. We represented the State of Illinois in a case where we had represented its Department of Children and Family Services below. DCFS had been enjoined by the district court, and the other side had prevailed again at the Seventh Circuit, so we went before the Supreme Court as twotime losers. And although we were buoyed by the Court's grant of certiorari, we knew that our chances of winning were slim.

I had argued our appeal before the Seventh Circuit, but the Supreme Court was quite another matter. At the time, I was only an associate at the firm--an associate who was up for partnership that year, but still just an associate. I was closest to the case and the evidence, however, so the partner on the matter, former federal district judge Susan Getzendanner, recommended that I argue the case, an act of support and generosity for which I am forever grateful.

Many other lawyers were similarly generous during my preparation. I found that a Supreme Court argument is a unique, universally revered, event among lawyers. When told that I was preparing for my first Supreme Court argument, everyone seemed ready to offer assistance and encouragement. The lawyers and support staff at my firm labored through long hours as we briefed the case (which was done on an accelerated schedule, as we were appealing a preliminary injunction). My other clients tolerated my temporary absence from their cases while I devoted myself solely to preparing for the argument. Several partners at the firm...