Harriet Miers , a partner in the Dallas and Austin offices of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell who is a former White House counsel, is expected to “testify before the House Judiciary Committee in transcribed depositions under penalty of perjury,” according to a statement posted on the committee’s Web site. On March 4, the committee announced that an agreement had been reached between U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., chairman of the committee, and the former presidential administration of George W. Bush. As a result, Miers and Karl Rove, Bush’s top political strategist, will testify regarding the firings of U.S. attorneys for alleged political reasons. “The committee has also reserved the right to have public testimony from Rove and Miers,” it says in the statement. Jonathan Godfrey, a spokesman for the committee, says a date has not yet been scheduled for Miers’ testimony. George T. Manning , partner in charge of the Dallas office of Jones Day who represents Miers, did not return a telephone call seeking comment. “This continues to be a separate matter that does not involve Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell,” Locke Lord spokeswoman Julie Gilbert writes in an e-mail. “We respect Harriet’s stature, credibility and character, and continue to feel fortunate that she is a valued member of our firm who is highly thought of by attorneys and clients.”
Schieffer Support
Tom Schieffer — a Fort Worth lawyer, former Democratic state legislator, former president of the Texas Rangers and great pal of former President George W. Bush, who appointed him as U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia — announced on March 2 that he officially has launched an exploratory committee to run as a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Schieffer says he is a candidate who will draw support from other attorneys. He even names names: Joe Bill Watkins , who is a retired Vinson & Elkins partner, former executive assistant to then-Texas Attorney General John Hill and former finance chairman for then-Texas Gov. Mark White; and Joe Longley , an Austin solo who was chief of the antitrust and consumer protection division of the AG’s office under Hill. Longley says he and Schieffer met in the 1960s, when both worked in the mailroom of the governor’s office when John B. Connally was in power. Longley believes Schieffer will garner “widespread support from the entire bar,” including plaintiffs lawyers, whose financial support has usually been substantial for Democratic gubernatorial candidates. Watkins and Schieffer met in the 1970s, Watkins says. Watkins concedes that Schieffer, because of his ties to Bush, is “going to have to deal with” the largely Democratic trial lawyers’ unfavorable views of the Bush administration. Schieffer “has a lot of re-introducing to do,” Watkins says. Schieffer’s ambassadorships meant he was out of the country for the past eight years, Watkins notes. For his part, Schieffer says he has good relationships with the plaintiffs and defense bar “and I will get sustained support from both.” His own entrance into the bar came after attending the University of Texas School of Law. But because he had been in the state Legislature for at least six years, the rules that prevailed at that time permitted Schieffer to take the bar exam without earning a law degree, which he did. He passed it and subsequently didn’t need to graduate from law school.
