DLA chief Knowles enjoys "brief chat" with Obama
Presidential contender Barack Obama received an endorsement from an unexpected quarter last week when he met DLA Piper chief executive Nigel Knowles.
London-based Knowles met the Democratic candidate last week at a cocktail party in Chicago he attended with DLA Piper joint CEO Lee Miller, who is a longstanding Democrat supporter and activist.
Knowles said: “I had the opportunity to have a brief chat with Obama and it was a very great honour. If you take the guy as you find him, he is charismatic and engaging.”
Miller, who is based in Chicago, had a leading role in the Lawyers for Hillary campaign in the US before Obama won the Democractic nomination.
DLA Piper’s chairman of the global board George Mitchell is a former Democratic senator who, in 1996, chaired peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. He joined the firm in 2003.
A spokesperson for DLA Piper said the firm donated money to both main political parties in the US and its lawyers were free to support either organisation.
Knowles would not be drawn on where his political allegiance lay, although he sported a yellow “Obama 08” badge while posing for a photograph with the presidential candidate. But, he said: “From where I sit he is odds-on to be the next president.”
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Readers' comments (17)
Hector | 20-Oct-2008 3:48 pm
Pic
He looks like he's at Madame Tussaud's.
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Anonymous | 20-Oct-2008 3:51 pm
Ego
Is there no end to that man's ego? (knowles not obama)
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Anonymous | 20-Oct-2008 4:02 pm
pic
didn't realise Nige had already made it into Tusauds - is there no end to his meteoric ascension?!
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Mrs Knowles | 20-Oct-2008 4:17 pm
I can't believe
I can't believe that he met the possible future US president without wiping that spot off his jacket.
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Rupert I. Senhauer | 20-Oct-2008 4:18 pm
rock the vote
Nige for president!
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S. Holmes | 20-Oct-2008 4:19 pm
Curious
I wonder if there's a story on TheFuturePresident.com about Obama having had a brief chat with Nigel Knowles.
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Anon. | 20-Oct-2008 4:22 pm
?
Which one is which?
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Anon. | 20-Oct-2008 4:25 pm
Suspicious
Am I the only one who thinks DLA made this pic on photoshop?
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G. Washington | 21-Oct-2008 11:12 am
Obama
You might think Obama is some sort of messiah just because he isn't a WASP and has some understanding of Islam, but he's still a suspect Chicago businessman. McCain might be an old WASP, but he's also a war hero, and unlike Obama, hasn't been involved in any shady real estate deals. Even if Palin is a bit of a joke.
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Anonymous | 21-Oct-2008 1:27 pm
Career Development
I'm impressed, Knowles has come a long way since his DIY SOS days.
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