NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that William A. Burck, former Deputy Counsel to the President and a former federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, has joined the firm's Investigations and Criminal Defense Practice as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.
Burck served as a senior advisor in the White House in various capacities, most recently as Deputy Counsel to former President George W. Bush. In that role, he helped supervise a team of over 30 attorneys and other staff in the White House Counsel's Office advising the President and senior White House and Administration officials on major legal issues confronting the Administration. His principal focus was on congressional oversight and investigations, crisis management, financial regulation and economic policy (including issues related to financial rescue and reform legislation), national security, nominations and confirmations of senior Administration officials, and transition to the new Administration. He also served as the principal White House Counsel liaison to senior leadership of the Department of Justice and General Counsel offices of various Administration departments and agencies, including the Department of Treasury, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
"We are delighted that Bill has decided to join Weil Gotshal," said the firm's Chairman Stephen Dannhauser. "His tremendous accomplishments in government service will be an asset to the firm and complement our collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to white collar investigations and defense work."
"Bill's unique depth of experience in legislative, enforcement and regulatory issues makes him an ideal addition to our talented D.C. team," said Michael Lyle, Managing Partner of Weil Gotshal's Washington D.C. office and co-head of the firm's Product Liability and Mass Tort practice. "He will play a key role in expanding our practice and local presence."
Burck's career in public service includes prior positions as a senior official at both the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary and the Department of Justice as Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. Prior to his service in Washington, Burck served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he tried criminal cases, notably as a member of the government's trial team for United States v. Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, briefed and argued appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and investigated a wide range of crimes including securities and other financial frauds, money laundering, and narcotics and weapons trafficking. Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Burck was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City.
"It's a privilege to return to the private sector with a firm renowned for its prominent litigation practice," said William Burck. "I look forward to applying my background and skills in serving Weil Gotshal's clients."
Burck holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. He also pursued Ph.D. studies at Harvard University's Department of Government. Burck served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Honorable Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
About Weil, Gotshal & Manges:
Established in 1975, Weil Gotshal's Washington, D.C. office was the firm's first domestic presence outside of New York. The office houses 30 partners and 81 total attorneys, focused in practice areas ranging from Antitrust and Patent Litigation to International Trade, Products Liability, SEC Disclosure and Securities Regulation, Bankruptcy and Commercial Litigation and Tax.
Led by an elite group of highly-ranked criminal defense lawyers, Weil Gotshal's Investigations and Criminal Defense Practice handles a wide array of complex criminal matters, including major cartel, securities, environmental and fraud investigations for corporations and their executives. The group is also experienced in conducting internal corporate investigations. The group has extensive experience in representing banks and other major financial institutions in investigations related to allegations of improprieties, including market-timing, conflicts of interest, improper allocations of IPOs, insider trading, market manipulation, and improper compliance procedures.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com), an international law firm of over 1,300 lawyers, including approximately 300 partners, is headquartered in New York, with offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Budapest, Dallas, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Miami, Munich, Paris, Prague, Providence, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Warsaw, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington.
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