Latham & Watkins a DOJ ‘Feeder Firm’
The Justice Department is once again poised to snag a lawyer from Latham & Watkins.
Partner Kathryn Ruemmler has been tapped for the job of principal associate deputy attorney general, the Am Law Daily reports. Ruemmler joined Latham in 2007 after working as deputy director of the Justice Department’s Enron Task Force and as a lead prosecutor in the trial of Enron founder Kenneth Lay.
The report is no surprise to the blog Muckety, which calls Latham a “feeder firm for the Justice Department.” It notes several other Latham alumni who worked in past Justice Departments. They include Michael Chertoff, who went on to become secretary of Homeland Security; Beth Wilkinson, who prosecuted Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing; and Alice Fisher, Justice’s criminal division chief in the Bush administration, who is now returning to Latham.
“Administrations come and go, but Latham & Watkins remains a constant—a white-shoe law firm that serves as a de facto farm team for the U.S. Justice Department, regardless of a president’s political leanings,” the blog says.
It illustrates with an interactive map showing Latham links to the Justice Department and other high-profile government jobs. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog also notes Latham’s connections.
“We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: Young law dogs with Department of Justice aspirations should consider Latham & Watkins,” Law Blog says. “The firm seems to be the DOJ’s home away from home.”
