Keith Gregory spends much of his time at the downtown L.A. office of law firm Snell & Wilmer LLP representing electronic component makers in complex litigation. But he also has a side practice that’s unusual for a partner at a large firm – representing high school athletes fighting for eligibility.
He took his first such case in 1985 after a friend referred to him the family of a high school senior who wanted to play football but was held back a grade and barred from playing. Gregory won the case, clearing the way for the student to play the last game of the regular season – after which the player promptly broke his leg and missed the playoffs.
“This young man is probably now 45. Oh, my God, do I feel old,” said Gregory, who’s actually not much older at 52.
He’s handled nearly a dozen similar cases since then. And it’s not the only way high school athletics and a legal career have intersected for Gregory, who played tennis in high school.
“When I was in 10th grade, our No. 1 player was a guy by the name of Phil Woog, who ended up getting a scholarship to Nebraska to play tennis,” he said. “Maybe 25 years later I’m involved in a litigation matter in Orange County, and who’s my opposing counsel but Phil Woog. We talked more during that case than all of high school.”
Hair Today
To Estelle Baumhaur, a bad dye job is a lot like a car accident: She can’t look away.
Lead hair colorist for eSalon.com, a Marina Del Rey company that makes and sells customizable hair color products, Baumhaur said she can’t help giving people mental makeovers when she’s out and about. Every once in a while, she would take it one step further: She’d approach someone with bad roots or brassy highlights and explain how she’d fix the color. Baumhaur, 37, was trained in Paris but worked for years in New York before coming to Los Angeles. And when it comes to constructive criticism, well, there’s a difference she’s noticed.
“In New York City, people were more accessible and easy to talk to. They would ask me what colors would be best for them,” she said.
But that’s not the case in Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, she approached a woman in a coffee shop to offer what she thought was helpful advice. But the woman stood silently with an unwelcome look of shock. Baumhaur backed away.
“She was not happy – it was bad,” she said. “I wanted to do something good for her, but she was very much offended.”
Now, Baumhaur said she sticks exclusively to mental makeovers when she’s not working.
Staff reporters Alfred Lee and Bethany Firnhaber contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
