SAN FRANCISCO — Before being charged with investigating Russia’s role in the U.S. presidential election, and even prior to serving as director of the FBI, Robert Mueller III had deep roots to the Bay Area. He was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California from 1998 to 2001, and decades before headed the criminal division at the same office.

We asked some of the biggest names in Bay Area law who have worked alongside (or in opposition to) Mueller to share their experiences. What emerges is a portrait of a hard-working, unflappable attorney who goes where the information leads him.