Allen & Overy (A&O) partner Heath Tarbert, who led the firm’s US bank regulatory team in Washington DC, is leaving the firm to take up a top post at the US Treasury Department.
The Trump administration announced this April that it intended to nominate Tarbert for assistant secretary overseeing international markets and development, and this Wednesday (27 September), the US Senate voted 87-8 to confirm his appointment.
Tarbert is leaving A&O after a strong 2016-17 for the magic circle firm, which this July posted a 26% increase in profit per equity partner to £1.51m, while revenue rose 16% to £1.52bn.
Tarbert’s financial disclosure said his partner compensation was £860,000, which he converted to US dollars.
Tarbert said he expects to receive a refund of his A&O capital account – he placed the value at between $250,000 and $500,000 – calculated as of the date of his withdrawal and under the partnership agreement. Tarbert also said he anticipated receiving between $500,000 and $1m in his final partnership share.
Tarbert’s financial disclosure shows he provided legal services last year to major financial institutions including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC, RBS and Morgan Stanley.
The disclosure also reveals that Tarbert provided legal services to Christopher Giancarlo, who was then a member of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Giancarlo was confirmed in August as chairman of the agency. Tarbert’s disclosure did not reveal what work he did for Giancarlo.
“We are proud that one of our partners has been asked to assume such an important international position at the Treasury Department,” said Barbara Stettner, managing partner of A&O’s Washington DC office, said in a statement. “We encourage public service in our firm and have had numerous colleagues take on key positions in government over the years.”
