Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who could be ruling on the nation's most contentious legal issues, from abortion to affirmative action, earned her professional spurs in high-dollar corporate battles.
Among her career highlights: a relatively mundane battle over computer software. She represented Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software company, and helped it knock down a potentially expensive class-action lawsuit alleging that an operating system damaged data.
In announcing Ms. Miers' nomination Monday, President Bush said his 60-year-old White House counsel "has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice." Among her achievements, the White House cited her work on behalf of Microsoft, Walt Disney Co. and SunGard Data Systems.
A review of two dozen civil cases under Ms. Miers' belt suggests that she touched few weighty issues in her corporate law career that would normally reach the high court.
"The subject matter doesn't take your breath away, but handling those matters is complicated," said Linda Eads, a law professor at Southern Methodist University. Ms. Eads, as Texas' deputy attorney general, represented Ms. Miers when she headed the Texas Lottery Commission.
Mr. Bush also cited her work on behalf of the poor, on the Dallas City Council, at the helm of the local and state bar associations and in the White House.
Over her career as a corporate litigator, she became recognized as among the best in her field. Ms. Miers' reputation was largely built on her work ethic and personality while engaging in relatively routine legal matters - disputes over bank notes, fraud allegations against insurers, class-action lawsuits.
"I think she gave sound and frank legal counsel to her clients regarding the facts as they were presented to her," said Locke Liddell & Sapp partner Thomas Connop, a colleague of Ms. Miers for more than a decade. "You work those facts, and all you can do is counsel your clients as to what the law is ... and advocate your client's position."
Before her time in Washington, Ms. Miers won accolades for expanding pro bono legal services in Dallas and across the state. But outside of her work for Mr. Bush when he was governor and president, the bulk of Ms. Miers' legal experience is drawn from representing Fortune 500 corporations and other businesses.
For Disney, Ms. Miers dealt with trademark disputes and contract issues. She was part of a group of lawyers representing the entertainment company, which then owned the Anaheim Angels and its minor-league team in Midland. A 1998 lawsuit filed by an infielder there alleged that the team provided inferior medical care that derailed his career. The player eventually settled.
Lawrence Gross, who was SunGard's general counsel, learned of Ms. Miers' reputation and sought her out for a legal battle with Dallas-based Southwest Securities over brokerage software SunGard created.
He called the dispute a "difficult and complicated case" but one that did not provide legal precedence or carry national significance beyond the matter at hand.
"Her analytical skills and her people skills are just tremendous," he said. "What's most impressive to me is she doesn't let emotion or personality get in the way of thinking things through clearly and professionally and making sound judgment."
In the legal battle after the 2000 presidential election, she was one of many lawyers hired to knock down claims that Vice President-elect Dick Cheney was a Texas resident at the same time Mr. Bush claimed Texas as his home - preventing delegates from backing the ticket.
Mr. Cheney had been chief executive officer of Halliburton Corp., then based in Dallas, and held a Texas driver's license. To avoid a constitutional issue, Mr. Cheney successfully claimed residency in Wyoming, which he had represented as a congressman and where he owned a vacation house.
Once Mr. Bush became president, Ms. Miers became staff secretary in the White House, a role that required discretion in overseeing the papers that needed the president's attention.
But some lawyers say that the variety of Ms. Miers' roles - at a law firm, on the City Council and in the White House - qualifies her for the court.
Most cases that the Supreme Court hears do not involve volatile issues that garner widespread public attention, said Lynne Liberato, a partner at Haynes and Boone in Houston who has argued before the justices.
"She will bring a different point of view by virtue of the kinds of experiences she has had," said Ms. Liberato, a former president of the Texas bar. "I think it adds to the richness of the brain power that it takes to resolve these incredibly difficult issues."
Across her three decades as a corporate litigator, Ms. Miers also earned a reputation for quickly and gracefully stepping into difficult cases and making sophisticated analyses.
"Is she the only exceptional lawyer in the country? No," Ms. Eads said. "Is [Supreme Court Chief Justice] John Roberts the only exceptional lawyer in the country? No."
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