Legal Village

Obama looks to Am Law 100 firms for best and brightest

Posted 10/11/2008 by Brian Baxte

While most of the speculation surrounding possible appointments by President-elect Obama focuses on the treasury secretary and attorney and solicitor general, the former Sidley Austin summer associate could tap several Am Law 100 firms to fill a host of other positions.

Lawyers from the likes of Cooley Godward Kronish, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Weil Gotshal & Manges, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr could be candidates for prominent roles in an Obama administration.

One position Obama will be looking to fill is a new head for the Justice Department's antitrust division, currently held by Thomas Barnett, a former vice chair of the antitrust and consumer protection practice group at Covington & Burling. Two WilmerHale antitrust partners - Douglas Melamed and William Kolasky - are thought to be prime candidates for the position.

Melamed was an acting assistant attorney general for antitrust during the Clinton administration from October 1996 to January 2001. His partner Kolasky served as a deputy assistant attorney general for international enforcement at Main Justice from 2001 to 2002.

Another position up for grabs is chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), where Christopher Cox will almost certainly be replaced. Former SEC commissioner Harvey Goldschmid, now senior counsel at Weil Gotshal, is reported to be under consideration along with former commissioner Roel Campos, the partner-in-charge of Cooley Godward's Washington DC office.

Gibson Dunn partner John Olson, a founding partner of the firm's DC office, is also reported to be in the mix. Olson is a former chairman of the American Bar Association's committee on corporate governance.

Henry Rivera, a Democratic supporter and partner at renowned communications firm Wiley Rein, is heading up Obama's transition team searching for a replacement for current Federal Communications Commission chairman - and former Wiley Rein associate - Kevin Martin.

Of course, those that leave private practice for the call of public service will not exactly be leaving their former firms in the lurch. Like two ships passing in the night, those decamping for government work will more often that not be replaced by their brethren returning from posts in the Bush administration.