FBI's Chris Wray Picks Another King & Spalding Partner as Next Chief of Staff
Paul Murphy, from the law firm's Atlanta office, will replace former King & Spalding partner Zack Harmon.
May 29, 2019 at 06:14 PM
4 minute read
Paul Murphy of King & Spalding. Photo: John Disney/ALM
FBI director Christopher Wray has tagged another former King & Spalding colleague to serve as his chief of staff.
Paul B. Murphy, a King & Spalding partner in Atlanta and former associate deputy attorney general in Washington, D.C., has been tapped to replace Zack Harmon, spokeswomen at the FBI and the law firm confirmed Wednesday. Harmon, former King & Spalding partner himself, has served as Wray's chief of staff since January 2018.
Murphy is slated to assume the chief of staff's duties June 24, said King & Spalding spokeswoman Micheline Tang.
Wray said Murphy brings “a wealth of experience” to the FBI, and that Harmon will return to the private sector. Harmon “has made enduring contributions to the FBI and it has been my great honor to work with him,” Wray said.
Harmon reported receiving between $1 million and $5 million in King & Spalding compensation in 2017 up until he left for the FBI, according to a financial disclosure form.
Like Harmon, Murphy is a partner in King & Spalding's special matters and government investigations practice. Wray, also a former King & Spalding partner, chaired that practice until he was appointed by President Donald Trump to replace former FBI director James Comey. Wray also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta early in his legal career.
Murphy said he is excited to work with Wray again, adding he has “great affection” for the Justice Department and “tremendous respect for the mission and work of the FBI.”
“While it was a difficult decision to leave King & Spalding and the many friends with whom I've worked for the past 15 years, the special matters team has a deep bench of amazingly talented people, and I know that the group will continue to thrive and accomplish great things.”
Christopher Wray testifies in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALMAfter Trump nominated Wray in 2017, Murphy and seven other former U.S. attorneys from Georgia joined nearly 100 former U.S. attorneys in signing a letter supporting Wray's confirmation.
Murphy—the son of U.S. District Senior Judge Harold Murphy of the Northern District of Georgia—joined King & Spalding in 1988 after earning a law degree at the University of Georgia. Like Harmon and other veterans of King & Spalding's special matters and government investigations practice, Murphy has extensive experience working for the U.S. Department of Justice. The practice was founded and initially chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell, who served under President Jimmy Carter. The practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense; civil and regulatory investigations; and internal corporate and congressional investigations.
In 1997, Murphy left King & Spalding for a four-year stint as an assistant U.S. attorney in Georgia's Southern District. Murphy was then tapped to be chief of staff for then-U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, another former King & Spalding government investigations practice veteran. Murphy also served as an associate deputy attorney general overseeing the DOJ's criminal and civil health care fraud enforcement program, and was the principal policy liaison to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Harmon also served as counsel to Thompson, and as an assistant U.S. attorney on Thompson's task force investigating Texas-based gas marketer Enron. Thompson also brought Wray in to be an associate attorney general.
In January 2004, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft handpicked Murphy to replace then-U.S. Attorney Richard S. Thompson of the Southern District of Georgia. Richard Thompson resigned under pressure after an investigation by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility determined he abused his prosecutorial authority to bolster the reelection chances of a friend and political ally. Richard Thompson is now serving a three-year prison sentence in Georgia after he was convicted in January on two felony counts of aggravated stalking.
After President George W. Bush appointed Lisa Godbey Wood as Thompson's permanent replacement, Murphy returned to King & Spalding's government investigations practice.
Read more:
Trump's FBI Pick Christopher Wray Earned $9.2M Partnership Share at King & Spalding
Ex-King & Spalding Partner Robert Hur Follows Rosenstein as Maryland US Attorney
Who Is Zack Harmon, New Chief of Staff to FBI Director Wray?
Sally Yates Launches Investigations Practice as King & Spalding Partner
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