New York lawyer Steven Reich, who was a senior associate White House counsel for President Bill Clinton handling independent counsel and congressional investigations, is joining the Justice Department.
Reich, now a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, will serve as an Associate Deputy Attorney General under Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Reich’s law firm announced Thursday.
Reich earned his political stripes advising congressional Democrats during the Clinton impeachment, including as impeachment counsel to then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (S.D.). He came to the White House in 1999 following the departure of then-special counsel Lanny Breuer, a friend. Breuer had helped defend Clinton during his congressional impeachment process. He is now the Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Criminal Division.
In the Clinton White House, Reich supervised the legal and media responses to the many Republican-led and independent counsel investigations of the president and his administration. He has experience representing White House officials during depositions, grand jury proceedings and congressional testimony.
His hiring comes as the department girds for investigations from the Republican-led House of Representatives.
“As all who have worked with Steve would agree, he is an exceptional lawyer with deep Washington experience and an excellent choice for this important post at the Department of Justice,” William T. Quicksilver, Manatt’s chief executive officer and managing partner, said in a statement.
Additional information has been added to this article since it was first published.
