How rich are the Trump administration's top lawyers?
Government ethics disclosures reveal earnings for Skadden, Sullivan, Jones Day and Dechert partners
August 22, 2017 at 07:01 PM
6 minute read
Like other appointees, lawyers tapped to serve in the administration in Washington DC are required to file papers revealing how much they are worth and the sources of those funds.
These government ethics disclosures, collected since January, show down to the dollar how much a law firm partner earned from a firm. Below are some of the top billers who have joined since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Jay Clayton, Sullivan & Cromwell - $7,623,900 total Nobody expected Sullivan & Cromwell to pay poorly. Indeed, the US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman earned $7.6m over 13 months as a partner at Sullivan. Read more.
David Friedman, Kasowitz Benson Torres - $2,705,692 total The US ambassador to Israel used to be the fourth name partner at then-Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman. For that, he earned $2.7m from his partnership share in 2016. Friedman was a partner or managing member of several other companies, including a winery. Read more.
Chris Wray, King & Spalding - $9,241,463 total Now this is a big Big Law paycheck. Christopher Wray earned $9.2m over 18 months from King & Spalding's partnership. He anticipated another $1m-$5m payout from the partnership share after June. Wray became director of the FBI on 1 August. Read more.
Donald McGahn Jr and Gregory Katsas, Jones Day – $6,267,440 total The White House counsel and deputy both left Jones Day for jobs advising the president. While McGahn is higher-ranked at the White House, he earned $2.4m at the firm, compared to Katsas' $3.9m from the partnership in 2016. Patton Boggs, which McGahn left before its 2014 merger with Squire Sanders, still owes him between $100,000 and $250,000 in compensation and capital payments. Read more.
Jessie Liu, Jenner & Block, Morrison & Foerster - $1,091,999 total Before Liu was nominated to be the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, she was a partner at Jenner & Block, then moved to Morrison & Foerster in April. In early 2016, she made $196,000 from her partnership share at Jenner, then pulled in $896,000 at MoFo until this May.
Robert Lighthizer, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom – $1,838,400+ The US Trade Representative said he no longer billed clients for work in recent years at Skadden. Still, he pulled in $1.8m as a partner last year, and anticipated another $1m-$5m from his share as of January. Read more.
Curtis Mahoney, Williams & Connolly - $833,238+ Williams & Connolly's partnership will say goodbye to CJ Mahoney so he can become deputy US Trade Representative. He made $833,238 from his partnership share at the firm from January 2016 until May this year. Mahoney anticipated money from his share worth another $500,000-$1m within two months of leaving the firm. Read more.
Brent McIntosh, Sullivan & Cromwell – $2,885,127 The general counsel at the Treasury Department made $2.9m from Sullivan & Cromwell during 2016 and through January. Read more.
Peter Davidson – $3,364,634 The general counsel at the Commerce Department made $3.4m in salary, cash payments, severance and unused vacation time as a lobbyist for Verizon Communications from January 2016 through to May this year. Read more.
Noel Francisco, Jones Day - $4,584,545 The lawyer nominated to be US Solicitor General earned $4.6m from his partnership share over 15 months while at Jones Day. About $500,0000 of that income he may not see until the year 2024, because the firm holds on to it to pay taxes. Until his nomination in March, Francisco served as the principal deputy solicitor general and as acting solicitor general. Read more.
Makan Delrahim, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck – $1,094,268 Before he was nominated as head of the antitrust division at the Department of Justice, Delrahim made $1.1m from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in his salary, bonus, the firm's buy-back of his equity shares and a distribution between January 2016 and this February. Read more.
Steven Engel, Dechert - $1,835,415+ Engel is a partner at Dechert and earned the nomination to lead the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. He made $1.8m in 2016 and January this year, plus a $75,000 bonus for his work in 2015. Read more.
Eric Dreiband, Jones Day – $2,206,078 Eric Dreiband will leave Jones Day's partnership to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, once confirmed. He made $2.2m from his partnership share and bonus while at the firm in 2016 until this May. He is also still entitled to an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partners' retirement plan, though he left that firm in 2008. Read more.
Robert Mueller, James Quarles, Jeannie Rhee and Aaron Zebley, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr – $12,845,093 total They're not working for Trump per se, but these four WilmerHale partners revealed their worth in joining the Justice Department's special counsel probe. Quarles was WilmerHale's top earner of the four, at $5.9m. Mueller (pictured right) made $3.5m. Rhee made $2.1m. And Zebley made $1.4m. All amounts spanned from January 2016 through to this July, because of federal disclosure guidelines. Their combined compensation is likely to represent almost 2% of the firm's yearly total profits.
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