April 30, 2008 3:08 PM

Ropes & Gray Partner Jane Willis Is a Card Counting Litigator

Posted by Ross Todd

Ropes & Gray litigation partner Jane Willis says the clock has started on her 15 minutes. Actress Kate Bosworth portrays a character based on Willis in the movie 21. "Loosely based," Willis stresses. The 38-year-old lawyer was part of the team of card counters profiled in the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which 21 was based on.

Willis graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Harvard, where she also attended law school. She now handles commercial business litigation for the Boston Red Sox and other sports and financial services clients. We recently got on the phone with her to talk shop about high-stakes blackjack and litigation.

So let’s clear the air. Counting cards: There’s nothing illegal about it, right?
That's correct.

Why do people think it is?
Well, if you’re caught counting cards, a casino can ask you to leave, or they can ask you to play another game. . . . It would be illegal to take a computer or a calculator into the casino and use that while you’re playing blackjack. But as long as you keep the numbers in your head . . . it’s perfectly legal.

Explain your role on the card-counting team.
I was a spotter. [When] the team is playing, the spotter’s role is to find tables that are "hot" . . . where the cards remaining to be dealt are good cards like kings and aces. So the spotter is looking for tables where the big player can go. The goal is for the big player to have a large bet out at the time when good cards are about to come out.

Is it possible for someone without a background in applied mathematics to do this?
It is. It’s not high-level math. . . . There’s some aptitude involved, but the risk for someone who wants to dabble in card counting is they may not realize that the level of accuracy is incredibly important to having a consistent edge.

What of those skills apply to your litigation practice?
Both require perseverance, attention to detail, and in both situations you’re taking calculated risks. The key is to take those calculated risks at the right time. When you go into a courtroom for a trial or an oral argument, it’s not unlike going onto the casino floor. You have to be aware of your surroundings. You have to know what’s going on, know when you have an edge and then execute on that. . . .

What do your associates think of all this?
They stay pretty quiet. Somebody said, "Well, now you’re the coolest partner." And I thought, does that mean I wasn't the coolest before? I didn’t really cross-examine him on that one. 

What do you do for fun now? Do you play cards?
Not blackjack. For me, going to a blackjack table feels like work now. . . . I don’t feel like I have a lot of free time. But I do enjoy traveling and Las Vegas. The restaurants and shows and activities there have really changed the city. There are even some places that are almost family-friendly.

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