Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole.” This is a quote from the film, It’s a Wonderful Life. I happened to be watching it the night before David died. It’s the story of a man who is shown what the world would have been like if he had never been born. I know my world would have been very different had there been no David Wack. Without David, I would never have joined our Moscow office, built a successful practice in Russia or, arguably, become a partner at our firm. David played various pivotal roles in my life, first as my boss and mentor and later as my partner and friend. After my wife, I’ve probably spent more time with David than anyone else on this planet over the past 11 years. We built a practice together. We shared an office together. We drank and we laughed together. We even opened – and 7 months later closed – a Cuban restaurant in Moscow together. He was like a brother to me and it’s hard to accept he is now gone. How would I describe David to someone who never met him? David was widely considered one of the best lawyers in Russia. It’s not surprising that his star rose so rapidly within our firm. His clients loved him, his adversaries respected him and his colleagues admired him. But there was much more to David than being a great lawyer. He was kind, funny and compassionate. He liked adventure and rode a Harley. He was a husband and father to three beautiful children whom he loved deeply and frequently bragged about. He had many, many friends whom he enjoyed spending time with, and they enjoyed spending time with him because David Wack was NEVER boring. As sociable as he was, David also had an introverted side. He was a voracious reader and student of history. He loved music and could spend hours by himself listening to albums on his record player which he forbade ANYONE to touch. Few people know that David was also very talented artist -- his paintings and charcoals could hang in a gallery. In short, there were MANY Davids, and together they formed a complex, larger than life figure whose absence will leave an awful hole in the lives of everyone who knew him. I’ll end this by sharing something David once told me. He said that during the best of times you need to remind yourself to stop, pause and look around. To take mental snap shots so you can take it all in and recall the memories later. Otherwise life can be a blur. He gave this advice to me the night before my wedding. I think it’s something we all could remind ourselves from time to time. David you will truly be missed.