A knight who says 'oui' - Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard ...

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

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Volume 161, No. 116

A knight who says ‘oui’ IP attorney August joins French Legion of Honor for work boosting Chicago-Paris ties BY JACK SILVERSTEIN Law Bulletin staff writer

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f you’ve ridden a Divvy bike in Chicago, you have Brett A. August at least partially to thank. It was 2007, and in his role as chair of the Chicago-Paris Sister Cities Committee, part of Chicago Sister Cities International, August helped facilitate then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s trip to Paris, serving as one of Daley’s liaisons. While there, the mayor grew smitten with “Vélib,” Paris’ bikesharing program, a portmanteau of “vélo,” which means “bicycle,” and “libre,” which means “free.” Daley, the late Maggie Daley, August and the rest of the Chicago group were at the Paris city hall observing, among other things, French citizens pedaling around the city on the Vélib bikes. They were standing in the city hall’s cobblestone courtyard when a member of the Parisian delegation asked Daley if he would like to take a Vélib bike for a spin. “I turned to Maggie and said, ‘Don’t let him do it!’ because it was clear that the pavement was very rough,” August said. “But as it turns out, he was 100 percent up to the task.” Daley hopped on a bike and, with photographers snapping away, went for a ride. “He just thought it was the greatest idea,” said August, a partner at intellectual-property firm Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP. That trip set the wheels in motion, as it were, for Chicago launch-

ing its Divvy system in 2013. The Divvy connection was a surprise benefit of a very purposeful relationship August has pursued with France and French culture. Last month, the French government reciprocated August’s passion for all things French by making him a Knight of the Legion of Honor — a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. “I am officially ‘Chevalier Brett,’ as opposed to ‘Sir Brett,’ as I would be in England,” August said. Chevalier Brett’s introduction to French culture came in the 1970s when he studied in France for a year. Growing up in downstate Mattoon, he said, “foreign countries were a fairly abstract notion — colored splotches on the map.” But his father spoke what he characterizes as “broken French” due to his three years during World War II in Rouen, the capital of the region of Normandy. To August’s surprise and delight, he was assigned to Rouen, where he studied for a year.

Brett A. August for differences in language. In the U.S., for example, when attempting to illuminate the shared traits among parents and children, Americans say, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The French say, “Les chiens ne font pas des chats,” translating to “dogs don’t have cats.” Speaking of dogs and cats, a Frenchman will think you are crazy, August said, if you tell him that “It’s raining cats and dogs.” You’re better off describing the rain as, “Il pleut des cordes,” which means, “The rain is coming down so heavily that it’s like walking through a series of ropes.” In English, harming someone from whom you benefit is “biting the hand that feeds you.” In French, it is “cutting off the tree branch on which you are sitting.” For August, learning these idioms is part of “the joy of languages” and is a big reason why he fell so hard for France.

“I am officially ‘Chevalier Brett,’ as opposed to ‘Sir Brett,’ as I would be in England.” His time there opened his eyes not just to France but to his home country. “Seeing the world through a new filter, a new angle, a new slant, a new prism — it was always fun for me to compare and contrast,” August said. He gained a particular fondness

“It doesn’t work for everyone, but at the risk of sounding like a language geek, it worked a lot for me,” August said. His interest in language has helped in his work in trademark and copyright law, where “having the right-sounding brand can be invaluable,” he said.

But while French Consul General Vincent Floreani complimented August’s skills as an attorney at August’s knighting last month at Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, August’s other efforts were the focus of the ceremony. In 1979, August co-founded the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, which Floreani cited as a “significant deed” that has helped bring 122 French companies to Chicago. In 1996, August was “instrumental in the formation of the ChicagoParis partnership” of Chicago Sister Cities International, a group with more than 600 volunteers for its 28 sister cities. “This partnership,” Floreani said, “is the main vehicle for the collaboration between Chicago and Paris.” Floreani complimented August’s promotion of French culture in Chicago and Chicago in France, a trait recognized by Anel Montes, director of international programs at Chicago Sister Cities International. “Whenever he is in France, he is representing Chicago, and he represents it well through all the projects that come through the committee, and just on a personal level,” Montes said. August also helped establish a relationship between Chicago Public Schools and l’Academie de Paris, which now has 12 partnerships between schools and has created pen pals and an exchange program. “If we can intervene in the lives of kids while they are still in high school and still relatively impressionable … by physically moving them over to France and letting them spend a couple weeks there, in theory, they will never be the same,” August said. In recognition, France honored August with a medal created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, who promptly gave the inaugural award to himself. August laughs at that but not at the impact his trip to France had on his life. “For me,” he said, “it was a game changer.” Or as the French say, “ca change tout.” [email protected]

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