Beltway Moves: White House Lawyers Join BigLaw

By Alison Knezevich

The arrival of White House attorneys at private law firms and the appointment of a new counselor to the U.S. Supreme Court’s chief justice were among the big legal hiring moves in the nation’s capital over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, Jenner & Block LLP rehired a partner who had previously left the firm for a post with the U.S. Department of Justice, and Goodwin Procter LLP picked up a senior official from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Firms also made a string of IP hires in D.C., including Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC’s addition of a lead administrative patent judge.

Here are the latest hiring moves in Washington, D.C.

Covington, Latham Land Former White House Attorneys

Three attorneys who recently served in the White House, including President Joe Biden’s former top lawyer, joined private firms in recent weeks.

Covington & Burling LLP announced on Oct. 4 that it had hired Dana Remus, who served as White House counsel until July. The firm said her practice will focus on congressional investigations, white collar defense, public policy, and election and political law.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins LLP announced on Oct. 3 that it had added Danielle Conley and Jonathan Su, who both previously served as White House deputy general counsel, as partners in the firm’s white collar defense and investigations practice. Conley and Su left the Biden administration in June.

Su was previously deputy managing partner of Latham’s D.C. office. Conley is a former WilmerHale partner.

DOJ Attorney Returns To Jenner & Block

Jenner & Block welcomed back Emily Loeb to lead its congressional investigations practice after she served in the Department of Justice, the firm announced on Sept. 29. Loeb will also co-chair the government controversies and public policy litigation practice.

Loeb was previously a partner at the firm, but left to become an associate deputy attorney general last January. Jenner & Block said she will advise clients in the technology, financial services and fintech sectors as they face investigations and regulatory challenges.

The firm also picked up John N. Estes III, who led the energy regulatory group at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, where he spent the past three decades.

Illinois Federal Judge Picked As Counselor To Chief Justice Roberts

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois to serve as his next counselor, the Supreme Court announced on Oct. 3.

A federal judge since 2007, Dow will replace longtime counselor Jeffrey P. Minear, who recently retired after just over 15 years of service to Justice Roberts. The counselor serves as the justice’s chief of staff. Dow is set to begin Dec. 5.

Dow was previously a partner at Mayer Brown LLP, where he was part of the firm’s appellate and Supreme Court and telecommunications practice groups.

Goodwin Adds Former SEC Enforcement Official

Goodwin Procter LLP announced on Oct. 3 that it had hired Jonathan Hecht, the former assistant chief counsel and acting co-chief counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division.

Hecht joined the firm as a partner in its complex litigation and dispute resolution practice. He spent more than a decade at the SEC, where his responsibilities included counseling senior leaders and other staff on novel questions of law, investigative practice and policy. He also served six months as enforcement division’s acting co-chief counsel.

Brownstein Hires Former Aide to House Minority Leader

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP added Will Dunham, the former deputy chief of staff for policy for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the firm announced on Sept. 30.

Dunham spent about seven years on McCarthy’s staff. At Brownstein, he will serve as a policy director on the firm’s government relations team.

Covington Adds Former Senate Armed Services Committee General Counsel

Covington announced on Sept. 28 that it had hired Stephanie Barna, who served as general counsel for the Senate Armed Services Committee. She joined Covington’s public policy group as of counsel.

Barna was previously a senior executive in the Office of the Army General Counsel, where she was a legal adviser to three Army secretaries. In 2014, she was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for manpower and reserve affairs.

Former Patent Judge Among IP Hires At DC Firms

Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC hired Jennifer Meyer Chagnon, a former lead administrative judge with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, to serve as counsel in the electronics practice group, the firm announced on Sept. 29.

Her hiring was among a string of IP additions at D.C. law firms in recent weeks.

Womble Bond Dickinson, meanwhile, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced it had hired intellectual property litigator Meaghan Kent from Venable LLP, where she co-chaired the IP litigation, advertising, brand and copyright group. She will focus on copyright litigation and counseling. The firm also announced the hiring of Denise Wood, a telecommunications infrastructure lawyer, from Amazon Web Services. Wood previously worked for the firm for five years.” target=”_blank”>announced on Sept. 26 that it had recruited Jeffrey B. McIntyre, who focuses on chemical-related technologies and spent more than 25 years with the intellectual property firm Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt LLP.

Blank Rome LLP hired Paul Zeineddin to help lead its IP litigation practice, the firm said on Oct. 3. He joined Blank Rome from Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP.

Also on Oct. 3, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced it had hired IP litigator Meaghan Kent from Venable LLP, where she co-chaired the IP litigation, advertising, brand and copyright group. The firm also announced the hiring of Denise Wood, a telecommunications infrastructure lawyer, from Amazon Web Services. Wood previously worked for the firm for five years.

ArentFox Schiff LLP announced on Oct. 4 that it had rehired D. Reed Freeman Jr., a trademark and copyright attorney who spent the past two years as a Venable partner. Freeman previously worked at ArentFox Schiff from 1997 to 2001.

–Additional reporting by Xiumei Dong, Madison Arnold, Sarah Jarvis and Jack Rodgers. Editing by Alex Hubbard.