October 25, 2011 11:14 AM

Jenner's Andrew Weissmann Tapped as New FBI GC

Posted by Nate Raymond

Andrew Weissmann, the former director of the federal government's Enron task force, has left his post as cochair of Jenner & Block's white-collar defense and investigations practice to become the Federal Bureau of Investigation's new general counsel.

The 53-year-old Weissmann, a New York–based Jenner partner who joined the firm in 2006 and was a member of its management committee, filed notices in several of his cases last week stating that Sunday would be his last day at the firm. A spokesman at the FBI confirmed Weissmann's hiring.

Contacted at his new office by The Am Law Daily, Weissmann declined to comment on his move. Susan Levy, Jenner's managing partner, said in a statement that the firm will "miss him greatly, but congratulate him on this wonderful achievement."

Weissmann replaces Valerie Caproni, who became vice president and deputy general counsel at Northrop Grumman Corporation earlier this month. At the FBI, Weissmann will oversee a 300-lawyer law department and oversee the agency's legal affairs.

Weissmann's move reunites him with FBI director Robert Mueller III. Weissmann spent 2005—the year between the end of his Enron task force stint and the start of his time at Jenner—serving as Mueller's special counsel.

As Enron task force director, Weissmann oversaw the prosecution of more than 30 people connected with the failed energy company, including Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow. Prior to the Enron assignment, Weissmann spent 15 years with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he served as chief of the criminal division from 2000 to 2003.

At Jenner, Weissmann built a reputation for representing corporations suing banks over frozen auction-rate securities during the economic downturn. In June the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court's confirmation of a record $431 million award that Weissmann won for client STMicroelectronics in a securities arbitration against Credit Suisse before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Weissmann's recent work also included testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before Congress in support of revisions to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In written testimony submitted in November to a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Weissmann said "the FCPA should be modified to make clear what is and what is not a violation."

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