Font Size: 
Mukasey to Join Debevoise & Plimpton
Legal Times
February 18, 2009
Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey will join Debevoise & Plimpton as a New York partner in the firm's litigation department, the firm announced Monday.
Mukasey, who replaced Alberto Gonzales as attorney general in November 2007, will focus his practice primarily on internal corporate investigations, independent board reviews, corporate governance and monitorships, the firm said in a news release.
He'll start later this month, a firm spokeswoman said.
"I am pleased to be joining one of the world's leading international law firms and look forward to working with the very talented lawyers at Debevoise. The firm's highly regarded litigation and investigations practice will provide an excellent platform for challenging and exciting work," Mukasey said in the release.
Mukasey was a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler before his confirmation as attorney general. He retired as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2006, after more than 18 years on the bench.
"Judge Mukasey's reputation for independence, fairness and integrity has been a hallmark of his career in both the public and private sectors. It is with great pleasure that we welcome such an outstanding and accomplished individual to our firm," said Martin Frederic Evans, presiding partner of Debevoise.
At Debevoise, Mukasey will join the likes of Mary Jo White, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and chairwoman of the firm's litigation department, and Lord Goldsmith QC, who served for six years as the United Kingdom's attorney general and is now the firm's European chairman of litigation.
Mukasey, 67, has had better luck than his predecessor in finding work. Gonzales, a one-time corporate lawyer and state Supreme Court judge, has been unable to land a job since resigning in 2007 amid internal Justice Department and congressional investigations into the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys.
Gonzales told The Wall Street Journal recently that he has delivered a few speeches, done some mediation work, and plans to do some arbitration, but said law firms have been "skittish" about hiring him.
The firings gave way to several internal DOJ reports, which found evidence of department employees improperly injecting political considerations in hiring and firing decisions.
Once in office, Mukasey limited contact between the White House and the Justice Department and reinforced a merit-based system for the hiring and recruitment of career employees. He also appointed a prosecutor to investigate the firing of former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, upon the urging of DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine.
During his farewell address last month, Mukasey said he was confident that "the department is thriving today, with both sprits and standards high."
First reported in The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
