Jeffrey M. Harris, speaking on a panel discussion at the Federalist Society's sixth annual Executive Branch Review Conference, in April. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi

Jeffrey Harris, former associate administrator of the Trump administration's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has joined the fast-growing litigation boutique Consovoy McCarthy Park as a partner.

Harris, a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., was second-in-charge of a 40-person office overseeing regulations issued by executive branch agencies. He joined the office last August and left last month to become one of five partners in Consovoy McCarthy. The firm has offices in Virginia, New York and Boston.

“I was having a great experience in government,” Harris said. “My boss, Neomi Rao, is a wonderful person and a deeply principled conservative. We were doing good work on regulatory reform.”

But William Consovoy and his partners approached Harris—making an offer difficult to resist.

“We all clerked together at the Supreme Court,” said Harris, who was at the court in the 2008 term. “We have been good friends ever since. They basically came to me and said, 'We have so much work now. It's great work. We want you to come in as a partner.'”

Consovoy and partner Patrick Strawbridge are former clerks to Justice Clarence Thomas. Michael Park clerked for Justice Samuel Alito Jr. They clerked with Harris in the same term. Jennifer Mascott, of counsel, was co-clerk with Consovoy in Thomas' chambers.

The move made “perfect sense” for many reasons, Harris said. “Those guys are dear friends whom I trust completely. The ability to help build a small firm and have ownership of that is super appealing.”

The firm has grown from just Consovoy and Thomas McCarthy when it opened in 2014 to five partners, two of counsel and two associates. In the ensuing four years, it has developed a reputation as a go-to-firm for conservative issues.

Harris said he was also drawn to the firm's “amazingly diverse” practice that includes representing individuals, corporations, trade associations and, among others, state and local governments.

The firm represents President Donald Trump in a Maryland lawsuit alleging the president has violated the Constitution's emoluments clause. And the firm is lead counsel for Students for Fair Admissions in a challenge to the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

The firm also is challenging the constitutionality of the California Voting Rights Act—now on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—and it represents the state of Texas in a new lawsuit brought by David Boies of Boies Schiller & Flexner that challenges the electoral college system in four states.

Before going into government, Harris, a Harvard Law graduate, was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, and before that, a partner in Bancroft. He practiced appellate litigation at both firms. At his new firm, he said, he will do trial and appellate litigation.

The firm also has several petitions pending in the Supreme Court and “hopefully one or more will be granted,” Harris said. “You can drop in on day one and have lots of interesting constitutional law issues.”

Consovoy said Harris “brings very broad and practical expertise from his regulatory work at OIRA, as well as top-flight appellate litigation skills from his prior work at elite litigation firms.”

 

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