Phyllis Diller's Paul Hastings Connection: Law Firm Co-Founder Was 'Love of My Life'
Phyllis Diller’s obituary included a little known-fact: She had a decade-long relationship with a lawyer who co-founded Paul Hastings.
Diller met Robert Hastings when she was 68 and he was 75, the Am Law Daily reports. They began dating in the 1980s and continued their relationship until Hastings died in 1996. In her memoir, Diller called Hastings “the love of my life.” The New York Times says Hastings was a lawyer but didn’t identify him as the law firm co-founder.
The Am Law Daily interviewed Paul Hastings senior lawyer Tollie Besson about the relationship. Besson says Diller and Hastings were “constant companions” who often attended the law firm’s social functions. On social occasions, “she wasn’t putting on a show,” Besson told the publication. “She was just a very engaging, outgoing, and very down-to-earth person. She was interested in talking to people about what they were doing.”
