Weil's journey began at the Law School. "I had so many great teachers that I could not begin to name them all," he says. "Together they were able to help me develop my analytical skills and improve my judgment,—the ability to take complex information and situations, to think logically about it from all points of view, and come to a reasoned conclusion about the best course of action. That is what I get paid for now—good judgment."

Weil is Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Investment Management Company, also known as PIMCO, a worldwide investment management firm that currently manages about$400 billion in assets.

He says he chose the Law School after graduating from Duke University, because he was looking for an academically rigorous, intense legal education. "It definitely was intense, especially the first year. Through it all, the faculty always kept challenging you, always bringing up another point of view, and really making sure you thought through everything thoroughly. If you hadn't done that on your own, they would make sure you did it with them, in class."

Following graduation, Weil joined a large Wall Street firm where he worked in securities law as well as mergers and acquisitions. It was during this period that he discovered his passion for the business side of corporate law, and he would eventually join the hedge fund desk at Bankers Trust. He moved to PIMCO from Bankers Trust.

"The Law School taught me to be suspicious of narrow perspectives. The relentless process of introducing new points of view, questioning the answers, and even questioning the questions, has a way of broadening the inquiry. It creates a sound platform for decision-making, which surely is what investment management is all about."

Weil sees that process of perspective broadening as applicable to career choices as well. "In law school, one is immersed in a culture of 'the law' in which there is a flow toward a definite set of career paths that revolve around the legal culture. In my case, the Law School was about the best general education I could have, and it gave me a set of intellectual skills that I could apply—and have applied—in a job far removed from law."

Several months ago, Weil and his wife welcomed their first child—a boy named MacCoy. "Children have a way of broadening your perspectives as well," he laughs. "It's the best thing that's ever happened to me."—C.A.