Jenner & Block managing partner Thomas Perrelli, nominated as associate attorney general, is not the only Jenner lawyer leaving for the Obama Administration. The firm has just announced that Donald Verrilli, co-chair of the firm's appellate and Supreme Court practice, will become associate deputy attorney general.
The veteran Supreme Court advocate, who clerked for the late Justice William Brennan Jr., has argued telecom, business and pro bono death penalty cases with equal skill over the years. "Jenner & Block has a long tradition of public service by our attorneys and we're thrilled that Don is joining the DOJ at this important time in our country's history," said managing partner Susan Levy in a statement.
Also departing Jenner, according to the firm's announcement, are litigation partner Brian Hauck, who will be counsel to the associate attorney general, and Ginger Anders, who will be an assistant to the solicitor general.
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UPDATE: In an interview this afternoon, Verrilli said he had not sought out his new job, but when approached he decided, "It's about time I served my country" after 21 years at Jenner. Verrilli has known David Ogden, appointed as deputy attorney general, since the days they both worked for the late, legendary civil liberties and First Amendment advocate Bruce Ennis Jr., even before Ennis went to Jenner.
Verrilli says his portfolio at the department is still not fully defined, but he expects it will mainly be on the civil side, working on national security issues among others, and serving as a liaison with the solicitor general and the office of legal counsel. The job begins next week.
Leaving his practice at Jenner is "tearing me apart," Verrilli says, but clients like Viacom and the Motion Picture Association of America will be in good hands. His appellate co-chair Paul Smith will shoulder much of the work, Verrilli said, with an assist from younger partners like Ian Gershengorn and William Hohengarten. "It's their time," Verrilli says. "They're not going to miss a beat here."
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