Gail Ennis, a Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr securities litigation partner nominated for inspector general at the Social Security Administration, reported earning $2 million in partnership income, according to newly disclosed ethics documents.

Ennis, a Wilmer partner in Washington since 2007, was nominated on Oct. 10. Her nomination is pending in the U.S. Senate. Ennis, according to her law firm bio, focuses on internal investigations of accounting conduct. A Wilmer lawyer since 1998, she has represented clients at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her compensation report covers income from last year up until the filing of the disclosure.

Ennis identified her anticipated partnership share at $250,000 to $500,000. She said she would receive a pro rata partnership share based on the value of her interests for work performed this year, up until her withdrawal from the firm, according to the “WilmerHale LLP Partnership Fixed Fee Agreement for Participating Equity Partners.” Ennis said she would receive a refund from her capital account, estimated at $500,000 to $1 million. She was not immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

Ennis said she will be eligible for an early retirement benefit from Wilmer. Ennis wrote in her ethics agreement: “The firm will pay the benefit to me annually, in monthly installments, for seven years following my separation from the firm. The amount will not exceed $175,000 annually, but may decrease should the firm not achieve certain income targets.”

Ennis identified four clients in her financial disclosure: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citadel LLC and HSBC Private Bank SA. She pledged not to participate in any matters involving those clients for one year, unless she first obtains a waiver.

The Social Security Administration's inspector general is responsible for monitoring the agency's programs and operations for fraud, waste and abuse, along with notifying the agency and Congress of problems and recommending corrective actions.

The inspector general oversees more than 500 auditors, attorneys and investigators. Patrick O'Carroll Jr. had served as the agency's inspector general for more than a decade. Gale Stallworth Stone has been serving as the acting inspector at the agency.

This year, the inspector general's office sent out a warning about a nationwide telephone “imposter phishing” scheme. “Our attorneys have worked closely with the internet search-engine industry to get in front of this issue, and their efforts resulted in a technology company developing a public service notice for its search engine,” the agency said in a semiannual report to Congress.

The inspector's office has also expanded partnerships with states to sniff out fraud in federal benefits programs.

 

The financial disclosure report is posted here:



 

The ethics agreement is posted here: