Philip Perry

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name = Philip J. Perry


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order = General Counsel
Department of Homeland Security
term_start = 2005
term_end = February 6, 2007
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predecessor = Joe D. Whitley
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birth_date = 1964
birth_place = San Diego, California USA
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nationality = U.S.
party = Republican
spouse = Elizabeth Cheney
relations =
children = Kate (b. 1994), Elizabeth (b. 1997), and Grace (b. 2000), Philip Richard (b. July 2, 2004), Richard (b. July 11, 2006)
residence = McLean, Virginia
alma_mater = Cornell Law School
occupation =
profession = Attorney
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website = [http://www.lw.com/Attorneys.aspx?page=AttorneyBio&attno=02162]
footnotes =

Philip J. Perry (born 1964, San Diego County, California) is an American attorney and Bush Administration political appointee. He was Acting Associate Attorney General at the Department of Justice, General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, and General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. Perry is a member of the Federalist Society. He is currently a partner at Latham & Watkins in their litigation department.

Career

Perry graduated from Colorado College in 1986 with a degree in English and from Cornell Law School in 1990.

Perry is a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. with a practice in commercial litigation and federal administrative law.

Counsel to United States Senate/Campaign Finance Abuse

In 1997-98, Perry was Counsel to the United States Senate hearings on campaign finance abuses in the 1996 presidential campaigns.

2000 Presidential Transition Team

In 2000, he was a policy advisor for the Bush-Cheney presidential transition team and an advisor on the Vice Presidential Debate preparation team. According to one account, Perry stood in in practice debates for Bernard Shaw, CNN's presidential debates. Of Perry, Cheney said, "He was tough...much tougher than I would have been on my father-in-law." [Michael Cooper, "The 2000 Campaign: The Running Mates," New York Times, October 3, 2000.]

Department of Justice

Perry joined the Department of Justice and served in a number of roles before being named acting Associate Attorney General (the Department’s third-ranking official), overseeing DOJ's five civil litigating units. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Perry also advised Attorney General John Ashcroft on issues relating to the government response and the War on Terrorism and drafted regulations for the Victims Compensation Fund.

Office of Management and Budget

In 2002,Perry then moved to the White House to be General Counsel for the Office of Management and Budget. In that capacity, he supervised the White House's clearance of federal regulations, mediated interagency disputes, addressed matters on the DOJ's civil litigation docket, formulated presidential executive orders, developed White House policy initiatives, and advised the president. Among his tasks was drafting the blueprint for the new Department of Homeland Security. Kenneth Feinberg, special master of the 9/11 Special Victims Fund called Perry "a first-rate lawyer," and that he was "quiet but determined." ["Spotlight," Cornell Law School, July 22, 2008.]

In 2003, while at the OMB, Perry was the Bush administration's lead negotiator attempting to pass legislation to impose security mandates on the chemical sector. After five years of failing to pass such a bill, Congress ultimately succeeded in passing legislation as part of a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that granted DHS new authority over the security of chemical plants, bypassing the Environmental Protection Agency, which would normally carry that responsibility. This new authority was later implemented through Department regulations and had the effect of superseding state regulations but only to the extent the state regulations conflicted with the federal regulatory mandates. [ [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0703.levine.html Dick Cheney’s Dangerous Son-In-Law - Art Levine ] ]

Private Sector Homeland Security Practice Group

General Counsel for Department of Homeland Security

In 2005 he was nominated as General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security to succeed Joe Whitley. In that position, Perry supervised over 1,500 lawyers, and advised Secretary Michael Chertoff and the White House on the Department's legal and policy issues. Issues of influence for Perry included, but were not limited to, "the transit of people and cargo, comprehensive immigration reform, and critical infrastructure such as chemical plants." A Cornell university alumni newsletter reports, "While at DHS, he was joined by Gus P. Coldebella '94, current acting general counsel, and Julie L. Myers '94, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ["Spotlight," Cornell Law School, July 22, 2008. ] He had substantial involvement in the passage of legislation authorizing DHS to regulate chemical site security. Chertoff is a former partner at Latham.

Return to Pivate Sector

On February 6, 2007, Perry left DHS and returned to Latham & Watkins, where he will handle high profile litigation, federal regulatory matters and chair the firm's Public Policy Practice Group.

Personal life

Perry is married to fellow Colorado College alum Elizabeth Cheney in 1993; they have five children. Cheney, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department and onetime member of the Iran Syria Operations Group, is the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney.

References

External links

* [http://www.lw.com/News.aspx?page=PressReleaseDetail&publication=1780 Latham Watkins press release]
* [http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1125651916267 Covering All the Bases] - Legal Times profile