Skadden is pleased to announce that former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. litigation practice. Ms. Liu’s practice will encompass white collar and government enforcement matters, including defending government investigations and conducting internal investigations; representing companies and individuals in connection with complex civil litigation, particularly in government-facing civil litigation; and providing crisis-management counseling.
In 2017, Ms. Liu was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. In that position, she led the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country, which employs more than 350 assistant U.S. attorneys. As U.S. attorney, she supervised criminal and civil litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Superior Court of the District of Columbia and District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She also served from 2017 to 2020 on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a small group of U.S. attorneys who advise the attorney general and deputy attorney general on issues affecting the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, including as chair of the committee from 2019 to 2020.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Liu was deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2017). In that role, she provided legal and policy advice to the Treasury secretary and other senior department officials, with a focus on national security, law enforcement and international issues, such as economic and trade sanctions, anti-money laundering efforts, and national security reviews of foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Between 2006 and 2009, Ms. Liu served in various roles within the U.S. Department of Justice, including as deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division, counsel to the deputy attorney general for national security issues, and deputy chief of staff for the National Security Division. From 2002 to 2006, she was an assistant United States attorney in the District of Columbia.
“Jessie’s extensive experience in public service as well as in private practice will be of tremendous value to our clients. Her track record of handling significant enforcement matters in the past two decades will make her an excellent addition to our litigation practice,” said Jessica Hough, leader of Skadden’s Washington, D.C. office.
"We are thrilled to welcome Jessie to Skadden, where she joins a roster of other former prosecutors who counsel our clients in their most high-profile government enforcement and crisis issues," said David Meister, leader of Skadden's New York government enforcement and white collar practice. "Her government experience will be extremely valuable."
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to join such an impressive group of attorneys, and look forward to working with them to best utilize my skills and experience on behalf of firm clients,” Ms. Liu said.
Ms. Liu has worked as a partner in the white collar defense practices at other major law firms, and she began her legal career in 1998 as a law clerk for then-Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She has been recognized nationally by Chambers USA, as a White Collar Trailblazer by The National Law Journal and among the Top 100 Women in Investigations by Global Investigations Review. She is a member of The American Law Institute and the National Association of Former United States Attorneys. She also serves on the executive committee of the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court and the board of the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit. A graduate of Yale Law School, Ms. Liu earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University.