NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced today that Jeannie S. Rhee, a former United States Deputy Assistant Attorney General and most recently a leading prosecutor in the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is joining the firm as a partner in the Litigation Department, resident in the Washington, DC office. Ms. Rhee will focus on significant white-collar and regulatory matters, as well as investigations, cybersecurity matters and data breaches.
“We are delighted to welcome Jeannie, who brings unrivaled experience as one of the nation’s leading white-collar and regulatory defense lawyers and as a first-chair trial lawyer,” said Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp. “Jeannie’s years of government service – as a senior Justice Department prosecutor, a member of the Mueller investigative team and an advisor to the U.S. Attorney General and to the White House – will be an invaluable asset to our clients.”
“Jeannie is a fantastic addition to Paul, Weiss and our Washington office, which is home to top litigators in a range of practice areas,” said Kenneth A. Gallo, chair of Paul, Weiss’s Washington office. “With partners who have held senior positions in the White House, the Justice Department, and numerous other departments and agencies, our office offers unparalleled breadth and depth of government experience.”
“Jeannie is widely regarded in Washington as one of the finest lawyers of her generation,” said Kannon K. Shanmugam, managing partner of Paul, Weiss’s Washington office. “We’re building something special in our office, and we’re thrilled that Jeannie has decided to join us.”
In May 2017, Ms. Rhee was asked by Robert Mueller to join the Special Counsel’s Office, where she led the team investigating Russian cyber, social media and intelligence efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Ms. Rhee’s team was responsible for many of the office’s significant accomplishments: the two Russia-related indictments, the prosecution of Trump associate Roger Stone, and the guilty pleas of attorney Michael Cohen and campaign advisor George Papadopoulos. Ms. Rhee also helped secure the guilty plea of former campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Between 2009 and 2011, Ms. Rhee served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. There, she advised the Attorney General, the White House and senior agency officials on constitutional, statutory and regulatory issues regarding criminal law, criminal procedure, executive privilege, civil rights and national security.
From 2000 to 2006, Ms. Rhee served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia. In that capacity, she handled more than 30 jury and bench trials involving public corruption, healthcare fraud, national security violations and other issues, and served as lead counsel in a congressional corruption investigation.
Over nearly a decade in private practice, Ms. Rhee represented a wide variety of companies and individuals, including at trial, favorably resolving criminal and civil fraud matters involving issues such as government-guaranteed loans, national security and cybersecurity breaches, tax shelter transactions, stock options backdating, public corruption, off-label drug promotion and environmental contamination.
“I am excited to join Paul, Weiss, a market leader in the kinds of sensitive investigations and sophisticated, high-stakes litigation that I have worked on throughout my career,” said Ms. Rhee. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve with the best of law enforcement. In looking ahead to the next chapter, I am grateful to join such an exemplary and accomplished group of colleagues.”
Ms. Rhee served as a clerk for Judge Stanley Sporkin on the District Court for the District of Columbia and then for Judge Judith Rogers on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Ms. Rhee earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Yale University and her J.D. from Yale Law School.
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