APPOINTMENTS

Friday, January 23, 2009 11:00 AM

Obama Fills Out Justice Roster

By MARY GILBERT

President Obama has signaled in his first week of office that his administration is serious about doing away with some of the most controversial policies of President George W. Bush and about making government more transparent. One agency whose credibility has been battered over the last eight years is the Justice Department, where allegations of politicization under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have now been confirmed by the agency's inspector general [PDF].

To help him restore the department's good standing and sort through the legal complexities surrounding the war on terror and other pressing issues, Obama on Thursday named several sub-Cabinet appointees to support his chosen Attorney General, Eric Holder (who is still awaiting confirmation from Congress).

David Kris, currently deputy counsel for Time Warner Inc. and an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University, has been selected as the assistant attorney general for national security. A top Justice official under both President Clinton and Bush, Kris has a great deal of experience dealing with Congress and with the National Security Council, and has been a vocal critic of warrantless wiretapping.

San Francisco attorney and former federal prosecutor Tony West is Obama's choice to lead the department's civil division. West played a key role in successfully busting a large Internet child pornography ring several years ago and was an early Obama booster, helping to raise nearly $65 million for the then-candidate in California.

To head up the criminal division, Obama has chosen Lanny Breuer, a successful private practice lawyer who represented Clinton during his impeachment trial. AP reports that, in an interesting twist, Breuer, who represented Roger Clemens in hearings last year over allegations of steroid use, will now be in charge of the agency investigating the baseball star.

And finally, Christine Varney, a former Federal Trade Commission member who has represented corporations like Ebay and MySpace in her private practice, has been selected as assistant attorney general for antitrust. With a reputation as an effective negotiator, Varney has considerable experience in oversight of the tech and health care industries.

The appointees' full bios, per the transition team, are available after the jump.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security: Kris is Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Time Warner Inc., Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is the author or co-author of several works on national security law, including the treatise, National Security Investigations and Prosecutions (West 2007). From 2000 to 2003, Kris was Associate Deputy Attorney General, where his unclassified responsibilities included supervising the government's use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), representing the Department of Justice at the National Security Council, briefing and testifying before Congress, and assisting the Attorney General in conducting oversight of the U.S. Intelligence Community. He joined the Department of Justice as a prosecutor in 1992 through its Honors Program, and received the Exceptional Service award from both Attorney General John Ashcroft and Attorney General Janet Reno.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Division: West is a litigation partner whose trial practice includes representing both individuals and companies in civil and criminal matters. A former federal prosecutor and California special assistant attorney general, West has been counsel in several high-profile litigation matters in both federal and state court. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. West served in both the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Department of Justice. West has served as lead trial counsel in a variety of jury trials. As an Assistant United States Attorney, he led a team of FBI and U.S. Customs agents in the investigation and successful prosecution of one of the nation's largest Internet child pornography/molestation crime rings. In 2006, Lawdragon chose Mr. West as one of its "New Stars" and The Daily Journal named him one of California's "Top 20 Lawyers Under 40" in 2004. A frequent public speaker and legal commentator, Mr. West has often appeared as a legal analyst for CNN-Headline News, ESPN, CBS-5, and other media networks on a variety of legal, political, and constitutional issues.

Assistant Attorney General for Criminal: Breuer, co-chair of Covington's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group, specializes in white collar criminal and complex civil litigation, internal corporate investigations, congressional investigations, antitrust cartel proceedings, and other matters involving high-profile legal, political, and public relations risks. Breuer represents corporations and individuals across a broad array of subject matters including corporate accountability, fraud and abuse, securities investigations and litigation, food and drug regulation, medical device health and safety, antitrust, conflicts of interest, environmental crimes, foreign corrupt practices, national security, and export controls. Breuer has been recognized as a leading litigator, including being named a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Washingtonian Magazine recently described Breuer as "one of the cleverest in Washington." Previously, Breuer was Special Counsel to President Clinton (1997 to 1999) and began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan under District Attorney Robert Morgenthau (1985 to 1989).

Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust: Varney has extensive experience in antitrust issues. Through her time both inside and outside of government, she has worked to foster vigorous competition and has led the way in taking new approaches and utilizing newer theories, particularly in technology markets. While an FTC Commissioner, Varney pioneered the application of innovation market theory analysis to transactions in both electronic high technology and biotechnology. She also focused her efforts on healthcare issues, vigorously enforcing the antitrust laws in that industry, while also encouraging the government agencies to be more receptive to innovative delivery modes and models. She is the author of an important antitrust opinion In the Matter of International Conference Interpreters, in which she concluded that certain practices were in fact price and non-price restraints. Her approach was hailed as both practical and innovative. Varney has won recognition from several leading commentators including Global Competition Review, Chambers USA, and International Who' Who of Competition Lawyers. She is cited as a one of the "Super Lawyers" of Washington DC in 2008. Varney received her J.D., from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986; her M.P.A. from Syracuse University in 1978; and her B.A. from The State University of New York, University at Albany in1977.