K Street Lawyers Clown Around in Office Windows

It’s 2 p.m. on a Friday. You’re at your desk. Things are slow. 

Then you look out your office window, across K Street and glimpse a redhead with big, blue eyes gazing back at you. Wait. Is that a clown??

When the law offices of Arnold & Porter moved into new offices on the 600 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW, they quickly discovered their neighbors were complete clowns.

For three years, a faded clown had sat at an empty desk in the Association of American Medical Colleges' office after one employee was transferred to New York.

“We missed his presence, so we put a clown here in his place,” said Hannah Kittel, who works for the association.

The clown lived a peaceful existence until 600 lawyers moved into offices across the street.

That’s when things got competitive. The lawyers bought their own clown and put him in the window.

Kittel and her coworkers soon noticed this new clown on the block, and accepted the challenge.

“We looked on Amazon and bought five more,” Kittel said.

The lawyers weren’t going to be outdone by a nonprofit, though.

“So we put up about 20 clowns,” attorney Allison Rumsey said.

“Then things kinda got serious,” Kittel said. “We needed to maintain our clown dominance on the block.”

So, the fight escalated. More clowns moved into the neighborhood, and then the lawyers started posting messages to the office across the street. 

The first message: “We come in peace.”

The association then created a masterpiece of sticky note art. The notes said "Yes" and "Time? Place?" 

Soon enough, the lawyers, through big signs in the window, asked their neighbors if they wanted to get together. They posted the time, Friday, Oct. 13 after work, and invited them to their rooftop.

Kittel showed up to work Friday ready to go, complete with a wig and a big red nose.