How Does Alex Spiro, Lawyer To The Stars, Get It All Done?
He spills the beans on his 'special secret sauce' in a wide-ranging interview.
Alex Spiro (Photo by Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
I have a photographic memory, basically—that’s my special secret sauce. That and my ability to sleep three and a half hours a day and process information quickly. If it weren’t for those things, I would have zero chance of survival.
— Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel, in comments featured in the New Yorker’s in-depth profile of the lawyer to the stars. From a young age, exemplified the traits necessary to become a successful lawyer. “At eighteen months, he talked like he does now,” his mother, Cynthia Kaplan, told the magazine. “I remember him saying, ‘Actually, Mom,’ at that age.” Later in life, his mentor’s assistant told him, “You won’t shut up. You should go to law school.” Now, as a Biglaw partner, he sometimes wonders if should choose another profession, but he just can’t seem to leave — the cases are too enthralling. “There’s no other fight like this,” Spiro said. “What other sophisticated profession is this binary, where somebody wins and somebody loses?”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
