the height of the Vietnam War to avoid the military draft. To be closer to his guard responsibilities, he transferred to the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he was managing editor of the law review. He received his Juris Doctor in 1971, graduating first in his class. He scored the highest in his class on the Arkansas bar exam. Marriage and family Foster met Elizabeth Braden, known as Lisa, during his sophomore year at Davidson; she was the daughter of an insurance broker from Nashville and was attending Sweet Briar College. They married on April 20, 1968, at St. Henry Catholic Church in Nashville. They had three children: Vincent III, Laura, and John. Career Lawyer in Arkansas In 1971, Foster joined Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, and in 1974 was made partner, one of only nine in the firm at the time. He was the head of the Arkansas Bar Association committee that oversaw legal aid, and as such worked with legal aid clinic worker Hillary Rodham in successfully overcoming an unreasonable measuring requirement for indigent clients. Foster then initiated the hiring of Rodham at Rose Law Firm, where she became its first ever female associate (and later first female partner); Foster and fellow partner Webster Hubbell were instrumental in overcoming the reluctance of other partners to hire a woman. The hiring occurred soon after Bill Clinton was elected attorney general of Arkansas, which led Clinton and Rodham to move from Fayetteville to Little Rock. Foster and Rodham worked together on a number of cases. And as Bill Clinton's political career gained force, Foster supported him. They were also personal friends and Foster was the one who taught their daughter Chelsea Clinton how to swim. Foster practiced mostly corporate law, eventually earning nearly $300,000 a year. Known for his extensive preparation of cases ahead of time, including the creation of decision trees, Foster developed a reputation as one of the best trial litigators in Arkansas. Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir calls Foster "one of the best lawyers I've ever known," and compared him in style and substance to Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch in the classic 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird. In Bill Clinton's memoir, he characterizes Foster as "a tall, handsome, wise, good man." Writer Carl Bernstein has described Foster as "tall, with impeccable manners and a formal mien ... elegant