Who is Alice Stark from The Pelican Brief and what is their importance?

Alice Stark is Darby Shaw's best friend in the Tulane law school, Stark accepts a mission to check out Shaw's apartment and finds signs that all useful data have been removed. They meet in an oyster bar, and Stark insists she is not afraid to help. Shaw asks her to attend the memorial service, watch everything, and spread word she has gone to Denver, but will return next semester.