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Andrew Weissmann, partner with Jenner & Block, has joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as its General Counsel and an Assistant Director. In this capacity, he will provide comprehensive legal advice to the FBI Director and other FBI officials, divisions and field offices on a vast array of investigative and administrative operations.
Jenner & Block Managing Partner Susan C. Levy was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “We are thrilled that Andrew is taking on this important role to serve the country as general counsel of the FBI. Andrew played an important role in the development of our New York office and of the Firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice. We will miss him greatly, but congratulate him on this wonderful achievement.”
Weissmann joined Jenner & Block in New York in 2006; at the time it was a new office. In his role as a Co-Chair of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice, he worked on various complex matters for clients across the globe. These included him leading the Jenner & Block team that won a $430 million award against Credit Suisse Securities – the largest FINRA arbitration award ever – for STMicroelectronics, in an auction rate securities case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed that award in 2011. Weissmann also testified frequently about criminal justice issues before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, most recently in support of proposed revisions to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Weissmann helped drive the growth of the Firm’s New York office and was joined by many top tier white collar criminal defense and investigative attorneys including Partners Peter B. Pope, who headed the statewide Criminal Division of the New York State Attorney General’s Office; Katya Jestin, who was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; and Kenyanna M. Scott, a former Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago.
Prior to joining Jenner & Block, Weissmann served as director of the Enron Task Force. In this role, he oversaw the prosecution of more than thirty individuals involved with the failed energy company. Before that assignment, he was 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. He was also Special Counsel to FBI Director Robert Mueller III in 2005.
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Weissmann’s appointment to the FBI position serves as just another example of Jenner & Block’s commitment to public service as a core value and long-standing tradition. He joins a long list of Firm attorneys who have been appointed to senior-level positions in government. Recent partners Donald Verrilli, Jr. and Thomas J. Perrelli currently serve as Solicitor General of the United States and Associate U.S. Attorney General, respectively. Other former partners serving in senior positions at the Justice Department include Ian Heath Gershengorn, the Department’s senior litigator responsible for defense of the Affordable Care Act in the federal courts.
With approximately 450 attorneys, Jenner & Block has offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Founded in 1914, the firm gained national recognition for its skill in litigation during its antitrust fight with AT&T in the 1970s. Additionally, the firm was one of the first national law firms to establish a Washington D.C. practice specifically focused on appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Firm has well established practices in a wide variety of areas, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, finance, private equity, real estate, tax, environmental, insurance, commercial law, technology, and intellectual property.
