(Photo by David Lat)
Chad Mizelle was recently the Acting General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. But as revolving doors must, he needed to find himself a new place of employment with the Trump administration over and his wife losing her cushy associate salary to become a federal judge over the objections of the ABA and anyone who thought federal judgeships should go to people with, you know, experience. One might have thought a highly placed Trump official attached to a department that managed to lose track of hundreds of immigrant children after collaborating with the DOJ to kidnap them in the first place would struggle to find private sector employment. Ditto the part where DHS started disappearing people off the streets of Portland into unmarked vans.
But that’s only if you don’t know Jones Day.
Entirely unsurprisingly, Mizelle slipped into the firm his wife just vacated with an of counsel title and an opportunity to pretend that every career stain of the last administration never happened. Current Jones Day icon and former White House Counsel Don McGahn said of Mizelle:
“He is a superb lawyer with a proven track record of navigating some of the most complicated legal, policy, national security, and regulatory issues our clients may face. I look forward to his contributions and welcome him to Jones Day.”
Some of the “complicated legal issues” he failed to successfully navigate involved his former bosses Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, the DHS “officials” that Trump appointed to head the agency despite a clear legal framework that prevented this. Mizelle’s job was to make the case that Trump could staff the agency with anyone he wanted and the GAO kicked the claim to the curb after, you know, researching it. This prompted Mizelle to respond the way any professional attorney would… by throwing a tantrum and personally insulting the GAO lawyers.
“This staffer appears to have limited experience practicing law- having graduated from law school only three years ago. He also previously worked on a Democratic campaign and the partisan Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee,” Mizelle wrote. “Surely, few things could be more significant than the appointment of the head of a cabinet-level agency. It should have been easy to find a more seasoned attorney (whose past political work would not have created even the appearance of impropriety) among the GAO’s 3,000 employees.”
Funny you should mention experience since your wife got a lifetime appointment after clerking the year before. Or, for that matter, maybe Chad and his 2013 J.D. should cool the jets before calling someone inexperienced:
Ultimately, actual judges sided with the GAO lawyer. Perhaps that attorney should be getting the of counsel job?
Once again, there are no permanent consequences. Kirkland & Ellis may draw the line at attempted coups but some other firm will bite eventually just to add a former senior government attorney to the books. And, as always, Jones Day is at the forefront of firms ready and willing to take the heel turn and dare clients to have the pang of conscience necessary to cut ties with a firm ready to memory hole every controversy of the last four years.
Or as we call it here at Above the Law, “what a totally expected look for Jones Day.”
Jones Day Hires Trump’s Acting Homeland Security GC Mizelle
Earlier: Shocking No One, ABA Thinks Biglaw ASSOCIATE Not Ready For Federal Bench
Sorry To Interrupt Your Friday, But Homeland Security Is Disappearing American Citizens Off The Street
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.