First Gentleman?

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Hollywood Reporter @THR
First Gentleman? @KamalaHarris' attorney husband talks "endlessly fascinating" campaign trail http://thr.cm/Fb1XNc

Doug Emhoff's legal career has put him on the path toward potentially becoming the first gentleman of the U.S. In 2013, PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin set up the divorced dad of two on a blind date with her friend Harris, then California's attorney general. When asked for details, he quips that they're all in her book, The Truths We Hold. It's true: Harris describes everything from their first text exchange (which happened while Emhoff was at a Lakers game) to how she wore Chuck Taylors and brought cookies when she met his kids. (Their engagement story is too cute to spoil.) They married in 2014, and she quickly rose through the political ranks (she's now climbing in the Democratic primary race polls, chasing Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders).

Meanwhile, Emhoff, 54, has continued to build an entertainment litigation practice representing studios and streamers in everything from copyright disputes to contract issues and antitrust matters. He joined DLA Piper from Venable in 2017 and now splits his time between Washington, D.C., and L.A., where he's lived since high school. (Emhoff was born in Brooklyn “before it was cool" and moved to SoCal as a teen.) The Agora High alum says he wanted to be a lawyer as a kid and the dream stuck.

After graduating from the USC Gould School of Law, he took a job downtown in Pillsbury Winthrop’s litigation group. He found the idea of entertainment litigation compelling but wasn't able to explore it until the late '90s when he moved to a boutique firm on the West Side called Belin Rawlings & Badal. “That was my shot to not only build my own practice but also to break into the field,” he says. One of his first cases was defending Hollywood Video in an accounting dispute with Fox, which led to ongoing work with the studios — and representation of dozens of production companies in an industry-wide late-payment class action in the early aughts. In 2000, he opened his own Beverly Hills firm with fellow USC alum Ben Whitwell. It grew to 12 attorneys before it was acquired in 2006 by Venable, where he spearheaded the firm's West Coast expansion.

"With all this other stuff that's happening in my life right now, it's great to have [my practice,] because it's something that I love and I'm good at," he tells THR. And by "stuff," of course, he means his wife's campaign for president.

The experience has been "endlessly fascinating" for Emhoff, who says he now gets stopped for selfies. He's focusing on business as usual as much as he can until November 2020, while doing what he can to help her on the side. Emhoff won't tip his hand on whether he intends to practice full-time in D.C. if Harris wins the election, though he'll quickly correct that it's a "when," not an "if."

read: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kamala-harris-attorney-husband-talks-fascinating-campaign-trail-1197098

Doug Emhoff with wife Kamala Harris during her 2017 swearing in as senator. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Link to tweet

[mobeau69]

1. Nice write-up!

That story about the Taco Bell pooch is funny to me but I guess it wasn't to the litigants!

[MoonRiver]

2. Bout time we have a First Gentleman!

[demmiblue]

3. This is interesting:

Emhoff won't tip his hand on whether he intends to practice full-time in D.C. if Harris wins the election, though he'll quickly correct that it's a "when," not an "if."

Has a first spouse ever not taken on the full-time responsibilities of the East Wing?

[MoonRiver]

4. I remember Biden's wife saying the same thing, should her husband be elected.

Also Dean's wife, who had a busy medical practice in Vermont. But, in addition, we've never had a male first spouse.

[demmiblue]

6. I seem to remember that about Dean.

Things change and the East Wing's staff can handle most of the logistics. At the same time, I also loved how engaged FLOTUS was with her issues and her outreach to diverse communities (it is fun to look back on the videos). To each their own... each individual/couple needs to do what is right for themselves.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. They look very happy and NATURAL together, unlike