Michael J. Plishner – 50th Reunion Essay

Michael J. Plishner

1701 Grouse Ridge Road

Truckee, CA 96161

plish@comcast.net

510-703-8745

Spouse(s): Rosalind Schein Plishner (1969)

Child(ren): Aaron (1973), Alex (1976), Elias (1976)

Grandchild(ren): Lilah (2009), Jonah (2011), Camden (2015)

Education: Yale College, BA 1969; Yale Law School, JD 1972

Career: McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (San Francisco; 1972-2002; Litigation Partner; Chair of Litigation Group; Managing Partner); Bingham McCutchen (2002-14; Litigation Partner; Deputy Chair of Litigation Group; General Counsel)

College: Berkeley

My first two decades after Yale were spent pursuing the fast-paced life of a successful career, marriage, and family—marrying my high school sweetheart, Roz, in 1969 (still married after over 50 years together), graduating from Yale Law School and moving to San Francisco in 1972, having three boys (Aaron, and then twins Alex and Elias), becoming a litigation partner and eventually managing partner at a large California law firm. A pretty classic run for a competitive and motivated Yalie—until a major shock turned life upside down.

For our 25th Reunion Class Book, I reflected on that life-changing event of 1989—the death of our 15-year-old son, Aaron, in a car accident—an event that put life into a very different perspective. As I said then, “Life goes by all too quickly. In my zeal to be the best that I could be, to achieve professionally, to be the youngest this and the fastest that, I missed much of Aaron’s short life. I always thought we could catch up tomorrow, just as we all do. But Aaron taught me what we all forget—tomorrow may never come. Aaron taught me that we must live each day to the fullest and that every event in our children’s lives is important. There will always be time to become president of our company or managing partner of my law firm. But the fast track has its costs. Our kids need us now, not when they are old enough to be presidents of their own companies. Aaron’s death also taught me that we must relish what our children are, not expect them to live up to some ideal. As long as they try, they are perfect…Yale never taught me these things. Aaron did.”

After the shock of Aaron’s death, I stopped working six and a half days a week, and focused more on my family and especially on our twins during their high school and college years.

The twins, now 41, are both highly motivated and successful. Both have MBAs and are senior executives in their companies—Alex a VP with Lennar Corp, a large national developer, and Elias an executive VP at Sony Pictures running its digital marketing worldwide. When each had his first child (we now have three grandchildren), I shared with them and their wives a copy of my 25th Class Book essay—with a plea that they put their families first and their jobs second. Not an easy sell for their competitive genes, but they are doing a much better job than I did with them, and for that I am ever grateful.

I am even more grateful for the wonderful life I have shared with my best friend, true love, and collaborator in life, my wife Roz. We started dating in high school, when we were 17. We have now celebrated 70th birthdays together. From 17 to 70, through both good times and through tragedy, our lives together have been forever intertwined and extraordinarily enriched.