“Since I had never done anything from the corporate side, I thought that would be fun and would round me out,” Mundheim says. “Strangely enough, like the academic community where you made it if you were good, it was a true meritocracy.”

Salomon was ultimately sold to Travelers Group at a much better price that it was trading at in 1991, and Mundheim became General Counsel of what became Salomon Smith Barney. The company later merged with Citigroup, and Mundheim stayed on until 1998.

FULL CIRCLE

In 1999, Mundheim finally returned to Shearman & Sterling, the law firm where he started his career.

“I went to Shearman after a 38 year hiatus with the thought that I would practice law and have time to do other things,” he says.

Though no longer running law schools or negotiating release of hostages, Mundheim continues to move in multiple directions. He serves as the president of the Appleseed foundation, an organization that establishes public interest centers around the country to deal with systemic problems in the local community. Two current projects include finding pro bono defenders in Texas and analyzing the potential for using retired professionals in the New York City public school system.

Mundheim has also served since 2000 as president of the American Academy in Berlin, which invites distinguished academics and practitioners in the humanities and public policy to spend a semester there giving lectures. Mundheim describes the organization as an attempt to “keep the German-American dialogue alive and present American ideas and values for people.”

Mundheim also sits on the council of the American Law Institute, and on the board of the New School University in New York.

He says he has no immediate plans to retire, and will continue to work as long as he believes he can still contribute.

“I think as long as you feel that you have the energy and the interest, you do the things that are available for you to do,” Mundheim says.

And Mundheim’s old friend agrees that he still has it in him to continue.

“I think he is one of the most youthful members of our class today with his energy, his stamina, and his interest in the world,” Shapiro says. “I can’t imagine Bob retiring.”

Mundheim attributes his long and illustrious career to his willingness to be open to offers as they were presented and then seizing the chance.

“There are many opportunities in life to be productive and to be satisfied,” Mundheim says. “You just have to be open to them.”

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.