Thursday Profile: Anthony Patti

What is your idea of perfect happiness? A nice meal and a good bottle of wine, with stimulating conversation as we look out over a Tuscan sunset. What is the trait you hate most in yourself? I talk too much. Enough said. What is the trait you hate most in others? Dishonesty. If you suddenly had an extra room in your house, what would you do with it? Build a library in the round, preferably two stories high. If you could do one thing professionally ... Argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. Better yet, win it. As a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School living in Ann Arbor, who will you root for on Sept. 22? My first love is my undergraduate alma mater, so ''Go Blue'' on the 22nd. (A bone of contention in my house, because my son goes to ND). But against any team other than Michigan, I enthusiastically root for Notre Dame. What would surprise people about your job? That my daily routine does not typically include the opportunity to give a rousing oration in front of a packed courtroom to thunderous applause. Even litigators spend most of their time at a desk. Introvert or extrovert? According to the Briggs-Meyers test, I am an INFJ. (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging), whatever that means. Apparently a rare combo. Notwithstanding this pseudoscientific data, everyone else would say that I am an extrovert. What's the best thing about having seven children? Seeing them love each other and hearing them laugh together. Because you gave them all Italian names, is it safe to assume you're proud of your heritage? Anthony, Gabriella, Francesca, Marcello, Lucia, Gianpaolo and Stefano all want to know what leads you to that conclusion. When and where were you happiest? Other than the present, I spent my entire senior year of college in Florence, Italy. That would be hard to beat. What's your greatest achievement? Being married to the best woman I have ever known and raising secure and happy children. What would you say to your 16-year-old self? You are taking yourself too seriously. What's the oddest thing you ever bought? Once, during a frigid, blistery and blinding snowstorm in Belgrade, I bought an exceedingly warm hat that looks like road kill. It is now, by spousal decree, in the children's "dress-up closet." What would be your ideal job? On-location writer for an international travel magazine. What one thing do you wish people knew about your work? That lawyers actually work hard for their pay. If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and John Paul II. Who is your favorite character of fiction? Silas Marner. Favorite movie: I am sappy and nostalgic, so it's a tie between ''Singing in the Rain'' and ''The Sound of Music,'' with a close second to "Cinema Paradiso." What's one thing you can do now that you couldn't do 20 years ago? Operate a computer with something approaching a passable level of competence. Favorite place to spend money: Airline websites. What is your motto? Amor Omnia Vincit. ("Love conquers all.") Where would you like to be when you're 90? By the hearth, reading a book, surrounded by energetic grandchildren. Published: Thu, Sep 6, 2012