'Ready to Respond': Wilmer's Robert Kimmitt and Covington's Stephen Rademaker Worked to Free U.S. Journalists
Kimmitt and Rademaker, finalists for The American Lawyer's Attorney of the Year honor, have worked on behalf of several overseas detainees, most recently Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
November 12, 2024 at 12:41 PM
3 minute read
AwardsBringing home Americans detained overseas, including U.S. journalists, is no small feat.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr senior international counsel Robert Kimmitt and Covington & Burling senior of counsel Stephen Rademaker are acutely aware of what takes place behind the scenes. Both have worked on behalf of several individuals detained overseas, most recently playing a part in the prisoner swap, between the U.S. and Russia this past August, which saw Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and 14 other individuals released from Russian custody.
For their work, they are finalists for The American Lawyer's 2024 Attorney of the Year honor.
Kimmitt, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, was brought in by Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, last March to help secure Gershkovich's release.
"We've been fortunate, probably uniquely, to work quite a number of these cases from beginning to end. We think we have a pretty good playbook. Again, I'd like to leave that playbook on the shelf for the rest of my life, but if called upon, we'd be ready to respond," said Kimmitt.
Kimmitt has worked on behalf of a number of individuals detained abroad, who have since been released, including conservationist Morad Tahbaz, former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and journalist Maziar Bahari.
"My career has been a mix of hard work and serendipity. All I can control is the hard work, and during my time in government, I was involved in various hostage release matters going all the way back to the Algiers Accords, which got U.S. government employees out of the embassy in Tehran in early 1981," said Kimmitt. "I didn't expect hostage work to become as big a part of my private practice as it has become. That's where the serendipity kicks in, and that is, in 2009, shortly after I returned to the firm, we were engaged by our existing client, the Washington Post, to help on the Maziar Bahari case."
Rademaker also played a part in the prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia, working pro-bono with U.S.-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to help secure Kurmasheva's release.
"We worked hard to raise the profile of her case and cultivate champions in U.S. Congress, and just make sure that the State Department couldn't forget about her," said Rademaker. "It was clear not every American was going to get out, and not every American did get out, and our job was to make sure she was among those who got out."
Recently, Rademaker got the chance to meet Kurmasheva for the first time after working for nearly a year to free her.
"It was only after she was released that I finally got to meet her, and that was a real pleasure. She came to our firm with her husband, and we had a nice celebration," said Rademaker.
Rademaker has also worked on behalf of Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang, who was released from Iranian prison in 2019 after more than three years behind bars.
While, Rademaker and Kimmitt have handled a number of cases for Americans detained abroad, they both emphasized its work that they don't hope to have to do.
"This is one of those practice areas where you hope you never get that call again," said Kimmitt.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Strategy, Brains, Creativity and Passion' Drive Lori Cohen of Greenberg Traurig
Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr.'s 'Continuous Improvement' and 'Joyful' Work Ethic
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gordon Rees Opens 80th Office, ‘Collaboration Hub’ in Palo Alto
- 2The White Stripes Drop Copyright Claim Against Trump Campaign
- 3Law Firm Accused of Barratry for Allegedly Soliciting Crash Victims
- 4Carlton Fields Downsizes in Move to New Atlanta Office
- 5Trump's Selection of Zeldin to Head EPA Draws Surprise, Little Hope of Avoiding Deregulation
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250