Newspapers have been categorizing President Obama’s Cabinet and staff selections as Clintonites or Chicagoans. But there is one other connection that unites many.
• Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s pick for secretary of State, is a longtime client of DC power law firm Williams & Connolly. It represented both Clinton and her husband during the Whitewater investigation and his impeachment and masterminded the record advances both Clintons have received for their books.
• Williams & Connolly handled Larry Summers’s acrimonious departure as dean of Harvard Law School President of Harvard. Summers is now Obama’s chief on the National Economic Council.
• Paul Volcker, Obama’s other top economic adviser, is also a W&C client.
• Gregory Craig, Obama’s White House counsel, handled the sensitive report on Obama’s contacts with Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Craig is a longtime partner at Williams & Connolly.
• Tom Daschle, Obama’s new Health and Human Services secretary, is a former W&C client; former wife Laurie Fulton is a partner at Williams & Connolly.
• Williams & Connolly represented Eric Holder, Obama’s choice for attorney general, in connection with a controversial business deal.
• Elena Kagan, solicitor-general designee and a likely choice for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court, is a former lawyer at Williams & Connolly.
• Cynthia Hogan, chosen as legal adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden, is a former lawyer at Williams & Connolly.
• Sanjay Gupta, probably the next Surgeon General of the United States, has been represented in contract negotiations with CNN by lawyers from Williams & Connolly.
• Obama himself is a Williams & Connolly client, as is the First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Williams & Connolly does not yet represent daughters Malia and Sasha, though when they decide to write their first book about growing up with a cute dog, want to guess who will broker the deal?
Law Firm to the Cabinet Stars
Newspapers have been categorizing President Obama’s Cabinet and staff selections as Clintonites or Chicagoans. But there is one other connection that unites many.
• Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s pick for secretary of State, is a longtime client of DC power law firm Williams & Connolly. It represented both Clinton and her husband during the Whitewater investigation and his impeachment and masterminded the record advances both Clintons have received for their books.
• Williams & Connolly handled Larry Summers’s acrimonious departure as
dean of Harvard Law SchoolPresident of Harvard. Summers is now Obama’s chief on the National Economic Council.• Paul Volcker, Obama’s other top economic adviser, is also a W&C client.
• Gregory Craig, Obama’s White House counsel, handled the sensitive report on Obama’s contacts with Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Craig is a longtime partner at Williams & Connolly.
• Tom Daschle, Obama’s new Health and Human Services secretary, is a former W&C client; former wife Laurie Fulton is a partner at Williams & Connolly.
• Williams & Connolly represented Eric Holder, Obama’s choice for attorney general, in connection with a controversial business deal.
• Elena Kagan, solicitor-general designee and a likely choice for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court, is a former lawyer at Williams & Connolly.
• Cynthia Hogan, chosen as legal adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden, is a former lawyer at Williams & Connolly.
• Sanjay Gupta, probably the next Surgeon General of the United States, has been represented in contract negotiations with CNN by lawyers from Williams & Connolly.
• Obama himself is a Williams & Connolly client, as is the First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Williams & Connolly does not yet represent daughters Malia and Sasha, though when they decide to write their first book about growing up with a cute dog, want to guess who will broker the deal?
Related:
Washington's Top 30 Laywers
800 of Washington's Best Lawyers
This article first appeared in the February 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
Editors' Picks
20 People, Phenomena and Trends to Watch in Washington in 2019
Meet Britt McHenry, the Fox News Star for Millennials
Washingtonian’s Best Longreads of 2018
These Badass Bluegrass Sisters Ruled DC’s Honky-Tonk Bars
Most Popular in News
Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne Will Headline This Year’s Broccoli City Festival
Porn Viewership Spikes in DC After Government Shutdown
Meet Britt McHenry, the Fox News Star for Millennials
These Quick Getaways Will Make You Forget DC’s Cold, Gray Winter
The Dos and Don’ts of Working at a Coffee Shop… And the Best Places in DC to Go
January 2019: Winter in Washington
Related
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
The New York Times Thinks Its Readers Should Visit CityCenterDC. We Agree!
More from News
Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne Will Headline This Year’s Broccoli City Festival
Washingtonian Today: Suborn Kind of Fellow
2019 Women’s March: When It’s Happening, How to Get There, Where to Warm Up
Porn Viewership Spikes in DC After Government Shutdown
I Attended the Women’s March in 2017. Here’s Why This Year’s Feels Different.
Washingtonian Today: Chuck Schumer Goes on Twitter To Discuss…Cardi B?
Generation Z Is About to Hit DC. Here’s What Employers Need to Know.
Pranksters Hand Out Washington Post Parody Near White House