"He seemed to have had remarkably few problems in his lifetime," his sister recalls.

St. Clair has a big problem now: Seeing that his client, the President of the United States, remains the President of the United States. It is not hyperbole to suggest that it might be the biggest problem any trial lawyer has had this century.

To succeed, St. Clair will have to hang tough, as they say--hunker down, stonewall. Delay. Divert. Deny. It will not be easy, and it will certainly take longer than the "several weeks" he wishfully predicts.

And when this case is over? St. Clair says he wants to return to practicing law in Boston--and, if he has time, to lecturing at Harvard. (Law School Dean Albert M. Sacks says he would welcome St. Clair back, but "the question would be whether or not we had an opening at that point.")

Last week, in an impromptu press conference on Capitol Hill, a reporter asked St. Clair if he and the President would stay in touch during Nixon's current Middle East trip. Yes, St. Clair said, I will keep the President abreast of developments in the case.

"Did you counsel him to leave the country?" another reporter wondered.

In a sense it was a funny question--conjuring up images of Nixon stealing out of Washington to avoid prosecution.

But the reporter was serious, and none of his colleagues laughed. Their silence was a tribute to St. Clair. At some point, the best advice he could offer Nixon might be to head for the border. But Nixon is not that desperate yet, due in large part to St. Clair's skill. He has fashioned Nixon a stonewall that is battered and under siege, but it still stands