Hi, My Name is Bob and I'll Be Your Lawyer Tonight

Yes, that's Bob Giles, managing partner of Perkins Coie, Seattle's largest law firm (700 attorneys), pouring wine last night at a dinner for the firm's summer associates.

They're the bright young things at top law schools being recruited for $125,000 starting jobs; competition between firms is fierce.

Says Giles: "The law is like the hospitality business. You anticipate client needs, you serve the client."

Never mind that Giles hasn't actually worked in the restaurant biz, and that wine stewards don't command stratospheric hourly fees. It's the thought that counts, in this case a hands-on cooking class with Mamma Enza at La Mondellina in Magnolia.

Because, unlike those fancy-pants firms in Noo Yawk, we're regular folks out here in Seattle.