Legal News

Paul Clement: The LeBron James of Law Firm Recruiting

By Dan Slater

D.C. law firms are gearing up to cherry pick the best and brightest lawyers from the Bush administration, reports the NLJ, and Paul Clement seems to be the belle of the ball. Clement resigned as solicitor general in June and now resides at Georgetown University.

“Paul Clement is the Holy Grail of law firm recruiting,” Evan Tager, an appellate partner at Mayer Brown’s Washington office, told the NLJ. He added: “The buzz in the legal world about Clement is like the buzz in basketball when LeBron James was coming out of high school and turning pro. It will be interesting to see where the market will go.” Clement declined to comment to the NLJ.

Firms are reportedly interested in founding an appellate practice around Clement, explains Tager, the same way Mayer Brown launched its practice in 1954 when the late Robert Stern, a veteran of 13 years in the SG’s Office, joined as partner.

What other Bush administration lawyers might be in demand? , deputy chairman of Katten Muchin’s litigation practice, says there will be a market for attorneys who worked in the agencies immersed in the credit crisis. But the economic crash has firms reluctant to hire Bush staffers who worked in other areas of the government, particularly if a strong Democrat showing in the elections leaves them without contacts in the government.

“Right now, with the financial crisis, anybody who is senior in Treasury and SEC will be hot on the market, but you have a soft economy and the likelihood of a stronger Democratic House and Senate and a Democratic administration,” Kuwana said. “The former deputy undersecretary of whatever that law firms used to go after will now have fewer options.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on October 27, 2008 (boomark / email).