Armstrong Teasdale honors firm’s 15th attorney, FBI and CIA director, Judge William Webster

In a fast-paced profession, it can sometimes be good to get a reminder that you, your colleagues and your firm take part in an infinite game and stand on the shoulders of giants.

For those spending time in Armstrong Teasdale‘s Clayton office, that won’t be easy to forget now. On March 12, the firm celebrated its 15th-ever attorney and former director of the CIA and FBI, Judge William H. Webster, by naming the office’s executive conference room in his honor.

Webster, a St. Louis native and graduate of the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, first joined Armstrong Teasdale in 1950 after having served in the U.S. Navy during both World War II and the Korean War. His distinguished career saw him rise to the rank of U.S. district court judge for the Eighth Circuit before becoming the only person in history to serve as both director of the FBI, from 1978 to 1987, and the CIA, from 1987 to 1991.

Webster was an Armstrong Teasdale attorney for two stints, first until 1959 and then from 1962 to 1970, and counted Anheuser-Busch, MasterCard and Enterprise Mobility among his clients.

Managing Partner Richard Engel, during the dedication, remembered his first meeting with Webster in the early 1990s.

“I recall thinking as a young lawyer at the time that, with all of his personal and professional success, he was humble and genuinely cared about his roots at Armstrong Teasdale. He helped me feel grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this law firm,” Engel said. “We are incredibly proud to have played a role in launching Judge Webster’s remarkable legal and public service career.”

Tom Wack, who worked with Webster at Armstrong Teasdale, said Webster helped him get on the straight and narrow in 1969, when Wack had just joined the firm.

“He was known to come into the library around 4:30 on a Friday to find whatever associate was dumb enough to be there to do some work for him. Now, Judge Webster was a real taskmaster, but I didn’t know that at the time. And he told me that he had a matter that required some research under Australian law,” Wack said.

It being late on a Friday and Westlaw and LexisNexis not being available, Wack planned to visit the law library in the civil courts building over the weekend, so he spent Friday evening with his then-fiancée. The next morning, Wack — living with his parents then — heard a knock on his door. It was his mother.

“Tom, there is a Mr. Webster on the phone,” she told him. “And it sounds like he means business.”

“And he did,” Wack said. “And I was down at that law library before it opened.”

Webster celebrated his 100th birthday on March 6 and participated in the dedication through a video call, watching his son, William Webster Jr., and Engel cut the ribbon to the Hon. William H. Webster Executive Conference Room and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page declare the day William H. Webster Day.

“I’ll start by saying how sorry I am that I can’t be with you, much as I’d like to be there for all the good that’s taken place,” Webster said. “I never dreamed that I would see my name on a conference room door, which says a lot of things to me.”

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