Paul Smith brought energy, agility, and a full command of the case to the podium when he argued on behalf of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund at the U.S. Supreme Court last Wednesday in the landmark gay rights case Lawrence v. Texas, No. 02-102. He also brought personal experience. Smith, managing partner in Jenner & Block's Washington, D.C., office, is gay, a fact that was not widely talked about, but that Smith and the firm talk about readily. "I think it gave me a greater comfort level answering questions about homosexuality," says Smith, 48, a veteran of eight...