What 11 Ex-Big Law Partners' Financial Disclosures Revealed in 2018
A collection of our 2018 public-records reporting on the financial disclosures from Big Law partners who left, among other firms, Paul Weiss; King & Spalding; Williams & Connolly; Kirkland & Ellis, Covington & Burling, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; and Wilmer.
December 28, 2018 at 10:20 AM
6 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
The revolving door of Washington spins with every new administration, as lawyers from some of the country's biggest firms leave behind lucrative partnerships for the chance to leave a more public mark, or at least testify before the klieg lights of Congress.
We've reported extensively on the movement of lawyers into—and out of—the Trump administration, and below are some of our most-read pieces from 2018 about Big Law partners who jumped to agencies and prosecution offices. One of those partners is awaiting confirmation.
Our reports focused on the attorneys' financial disclosures—mandatory filings for many high-level executive branch positions. These documents revealed income, client names and other compensation and benefits arrangements a partner had with his or her firm. The public filings provide some insight into matters a newly hired or appointed Trump administration lawyer might not be able to touch for a year or so.
➤➤ FBI Director Wray Banked $14M From King & Spalding Since 2016 FBI Director Christopher Wray reported receiving more than $14 million in partnership income from King & Spalding since 2016 for work advising corporate clients, including Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, Credit Suisse and Chevron Corp. Read Wray's latest disclosure and his 2017 filing.
➤➤ Former Kirkland Partner Robert Khuzami Banked $11M Partnership Share Robert Khuzami, the former Kirkland & Ellis white-collar partner who's now second-in-command at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, reported earning $11.1 million in partnership income in about a year's span. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Trump Lawyer Emmet Flood's Financial Disclosure Shows $3.3M Partner Share Emmet Flood, the White House lawyer representing President Donald Trump in dealings with the special counsel's office, earned $3.3 million as a Williams & Connolly partner between 2017 and his departure from the firm earlier this year. For more Williams & Connolly disclosures: Curtis J. Mahoney, a partner who was picked for a deputy U.S. trade representative post, reported $833,000 in partnership income, and Allison Jones Rushing, a Trump nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, earned more than $650,000 as a partner in 2017. Read Flood's disclosure.
➤➤ Ex-O'Melveny Chairman Culvahouse Reports $1.7M Income in Ambassador Nominee Filing Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., formerly chairman of O'Melveny & Myers and a longtime Washington insider, reported earning $1.7 million in compensation over the past two years for work advising Trump administration officials and some of the country's biggest companies. Trump picked Culvahouse for U.S. ambassador to Australia. His nomination is pending. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Former Allen & Overy Partner Gets Trump Nod to Lead Commodities Agency Ex-Clarence Thomas clerk Heath Tarbert, a former top Allen & Overy regulatory partner who had represented some of the world's largest banks and financial institutions, is the Trump administration's nominee to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ What's in Geoffrey Berman's US Attorney Financial Disclosure? Now We Know. Geoffrey Berman, the court-appointed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, reported earning about $3.5 million in salary and bonus last year at Greenberg Traurig, where his clients included Deutsche Bank and a handful of individuals. Berman is recused from his office's prosecution of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Former Morgan Lewis Partner, Now at SEC, Banked $1.8M Partnership Share Elizabeth Baird, a top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer who earlier served as co-managing partner of the Morgan, Lewis & Bockius office in Washington, earned nearly $1.8 million at the firm since January 2017 while representing some of the largest U.S. banks. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Joseph Simons of Paul Weiss, Trump's FTC Chairman Pick, Reports $1.9M in Partner Share Joseph Simons, the former Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison antitrust co-chairman in Washington who now chairs the Federal Trade Commission, reported earning $1.9 million in partnership share from the firm. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Covington Partner, Picked for Consumer Chief, Divides FTC Andrew Smith, a former Covington & Burling partner, arrived at the Federal Trade Commission this year to lead the agency's consumer protection division. Democratic commissioners opposed his appointment over concerns that his former clients, including Facebook and Equifax, would force him to recuse from some of the FTC's highest-profile investigations. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Wilmer Partner Dan Berkovitz, Up for CFTC Seat, Reveals Big Law Income, Client List Dan Berkovitz, a Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner picked for a Democratic seat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, reported earning $1.18 million in partnership income at the firm. Berkovitz was co-chairman of Wilmer's futures and derivatives practices. Read the disclosure.
➤➤ Ex-Ropes & Gray Lawyer, Now SEC's NY Director, Reveals $2.4M Partner Share Marc Berger, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's New York office, earned a partnership share of $2.4 million last year from Ropes & Gray. Berger's client roster included Morgan Stanley & Co., FMR Corp., Pfizer Inc. and Pacific Investment Co. Read the disclosure.
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