November 7, 2008 1:21 PM

Obama Kicks Tires of Am Law 100 Firms for Best and Brightest

Posted by Brian Baxter

While most of the speculation surrounding possible appointments by President-elect Obama focuses on the treasury secretary and attorney and solicitor general, the former Sidley Austin summer associate could tap several Am Law 100 firms to fill a host of other positions.

The Deal reports that lawyers from the likes of Cooley Godward Kronish, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr could be candidates for prominent roles in an Obama administration.

One position Obama will be looking to fill is a new head for the Justice Department's antitrust division, currently held by Thomas Barnett, a former vice chair of the antitrust and consumer protection practice group at Covington & Burling. The Deal reports that two Wilmer antitrust partners--A. Douglas Melamed and William Kolasky--are prime candidates for the position.

Melamed, who most recently advised our Dealmaker of the Week on a $27 billion telecommunications merger, was an acting assistant attorney general for antitrust during the Clinton administration from October 1996 to January 2001. His partner Kolasky, a former supporter of Sen. John McCain who The Deal reports switched to the Obama camp over a year ago, served as a deputy assistant attorney general for international enforcement at Main Justice from 2001 to 2002. (Don't discount Harvard Law School professor Einer Elhauge either, reports The Deal, noting that the frequent speaker at Obama fundraisers could be enticed to leave academia for public service.)

Another position up for grabs is chairman of the SEC, where Christopher Cox will almost certainly be replaced. Former SEC commissioner Harvey Goldschmid, now senior counsel at Weil, is reported to be under consideration along with former commissioner Roel Campos, the partner-in-charge of Cooley Godward's Washington, D.C., office.

Gibson Dunn partner John Olson, a founding partner of the firm's D.C. office, is also reported to be in the mix. Olson--not fellow Gibson Dunn partner and conservative standard-bearer Ted Olson--is a former chairman of the American Bar Association's committee on corporate governance.

Henry Rivera, a Democratic supporter and partner at renowned communications firm Wiley Rein, is heading up Obama's transition team searching for a replacement for current Federal Communications Commission chairman--and former Wiley Rein associate--Kevin Martin.

Of course, those that leave private practice for the call of public service won't exactly be leaving their former firms in the lurch. Like two ships passing in the night, those decamping for government work will more often that not be replaced by their brethren returning from posts in the Bush administration.

More on those individuals in the weeks ahead.

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