Earlier today, we reported that Jane Sullivan Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., has a job change in her near future. She'll be moving from the D.C. law office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman to a lawyer recruiting firm, Major, Lindsey & Africa, to head the In-House Practice Group for its D.C. office.
We tried to catch up with Jane Roberts on the phone to discuss the job change, but she politely begged off, saying she had to "pick up my children." Others at Pillsbury have not returned calls. But at Major, Lindsey & Africa, the managing partner of the D.C. office, Jeffrey Lowe, was eager to talk about the new hire. He says he and Jane Roberts began to talk about her coming to the firm last month. "It seemed like a natural fit," Lowe said, given her experience in professional development at Pillsbury. She'll be in charge of the DC office's growing business finding in-house counsel for corporate clients. She starts in June.
Lowe was asked if her new position would pose any conflicts if, for example, a company with a case before the Supreme Court brings its legal recruiting business to her. "We've certainly thought about" such issues, said Lowe, and they will be handled case by case. "We are fully committed to avoiding conflicts or the appearance of conflict," he said, adding that his firm has a longstanding reputation for ethical behavior.
One judicial ethics expert, Steve Lubet of Northwestern, says Roberts' job change probably "reduces potential conflicts rather than raise them," because "as a headhunter, she is further removed from the courts."
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