The search is underway to fill the soon-to-be-vacant U.S. attorney slot in the Northern District of California.

Sidley Austin announced Wednesday that current U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch is set to join its San Francisco office in February. A spokesman for the office confirmed that Stretch's last day in the post will be Saturday and that his temporary replacement is set to be named Sunday. But the search to find a more permanent replacement for the position, which requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate, is underway with the office of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, asserting a lead role according to sources familiar with the process.

Among those said to be potential candidates for the post are a number alumni of the local prosecutor's office. Two-time San Francisco U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello worked alongside U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he was a U.S. attorney in Alabama and is said to have traveled to Washington, D.C., for the recent Federalist Society convention to campaign for the job. Also in the running are Sidley Austin partner David Anderson, who served as Russoniello's No. 2 in the San Francisco office, and Judge Anne-Christine Massullo, a former federal prosecutor currently serving as the supervising family law judge in San Francisco Superior Court. Kathryn Haun, a former prosecutor who now teaches at Stanford Graduate School of Business and sits on the board of Coinbase Inc., has also been in the running. Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney who backed President Donald Trump during his campaign, previously expressed interest in the job but is no longer in contention.