Robert D. McLean, lawyer

Robert D. McLean was remembered Tuesday as a brilliant andsuccessful lawyer who was as comfortable arguing complicatedcorporate litigation as he was jogging with his children.

Mr. McLean, 53, chairman of the executive committee of theChicago-based international law firm of Sidley & Austin, died Mondayafter a battle with cancer.

"He was an extraordinary man who was still able to enjoy theordinary pleasures of life," said Ann P. McLean, 21, his daughter."He was a very intense person. But he had balance in his life."Newton Minow, a former chairman of the Federal CommunicationsCommission and a fellow partner at Sidley & Austin, offered highpraise for Mr. McLean."In one human being, Bob combined a brilliant legal mind, thehighest professional standards and an imaginative vision of how bestto serve the needs of clients," Minow said. "He made an enduringcontribution to our firm and to the rule of law."Born in Mankato, Minn., Mr. McLean was an Eagle Scout, captainof his high school track team and a National Merit Scholar.He graduated in 1967 from Northwestern University, where he wasan Austin Scholar with a double major in English and economics. Hegraduated from Yale Law School in 1970.He joined Sidley & Austin in 1972 and became a partner in 1975.In 1984, he was elected to the firm's executive committee.Between 1987 and 1994, Mr. McLean was managing partner of Sidley& Austin's Washington office.Mr. McLean was elected chairman of the executive committee in1993. He played a key role in the firm's international expansion.Among the major cases he worked on were the United States vs.AT&T, defending the Bell System in the largest antitrust action everbrought by the government at that time. Much of his significant workinvolved representing major accounting firms, particularly resolvingmassive litigation claims against two large firms stemming from thesavings and loan crisis.Mr. McLean is survived by his wife, Leslie Breed McLean; twosons, Robert P. and Edward B.; another daughter, Katherine T. McLean;his parents, Edward and Beatrice McLean; a brother, Edward McLean,and a sister, Marilyn McLean Johnson.A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday at FourthPresbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut.