Robert B. Fiske

Robert Bishop Fiske, Jr. (born December 28, 1930 in New York City) is a prominent trial attorney and a partner with the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City. He was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1976 to 1980 after earlier having served as an assistant in the office from 1957 to 1961.

pecial Prosecutor

Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Fiske as the "special prosecutor" to investigate the Whitewater controversy and the death of White House Counsel Vincent Foster in January 1994. Fiske conducted investigations, and released an interim report on June 30 that in summary concluded that President Bill Clinton and White House officials had not interfered with the Resolution Trust Corporation, which was investigating the failed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, a partner of the Whitewater Development Corporation. Fiske's report also concluded that Vince Foster committed suicide. On the same day that Fiske released this report, President Clinton signed the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994, effectively abolishing the position of Special Prosecutor and replacing it with the position of Independent Counsel. Under the new law, the Special Division had sole authority to select Independent Counsels. Janet Reno formally requested that Robert Fiske be chosen, and allowed to continue his investigation. On August 5, the Special Division, headed by Judge David Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, decided to replace Fiske with former D.C. Circuit judge Kenneth Starr.

Private Practice

At Davis Polk, Fiske's clients have included the National Football League in an antitrust suit brought by the United States Football League; Clark Clifford and Robert A. Altman in investigations of their roles in the BCCI matter; Exxon in New York and New Jersey investigations of the Arthur Kill oil spill; A. Alfred Taubman of Sotheby's on charges of conspiring to violate antitrust laws by engaging in price-fixing with rival Christie's; and Sanjay Kumar of Computer Associates International, Inc. on charges of securities fraud and obstruction of justice. He is a past president of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Federal Bar Council.

An alumni of the Pomfret School he has a BA from Yale University (1952), where he was a member of Wolf's Head, and a JD from the University of Michigan (1955), where he was associate editor of the law review.