So what’s the deal with the San Francisco U.S. attorney opening? The rumor mill has been swirling surprisingly slowly over the last month or so, and we’re hearing precious little about what lucky guy (as far as we know, there are still no women candidates) will get the opportunity to work for Alberto Gonzales. Here’s what we do know: Patrick Robbins, the Shearman & Sterling partner and former white-collar prosecutor who was widely seen as a frontrunner, has pulled out. It seems as if 12 months in the top prosecutor’s position (and that’s if Senate confirmation were to go smoothly) wasn’t enough to woo the lawyer away from what’s become a lucrative defense and internal-investigations practice. We’re hearing he may have had some conflict issues with cases that could come before the office, as well.
As far as the other candidates go ...
Heller Ehrman partner Michael Shepard struck enough people as a good choice that he got interviewed back in D.C. But since then, it’s become clear to everyone involved that as a non-Republican, he’s not about to get picked.
Then there’s Timothy Crudo, a onetime Latham & Watkins partner who’s now the assistant U.S. attorney handling the pending stock option trial of former Brocade CEO Gregory Reyes. He’s well-liked by the bench and his co-workers, and we hear that he could have some pull in D.C. thanks to two fellow Latham alums, Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff and Alice Fisher, current head of the DOJ’s criminal division. Then again, Crudo only has a few years of prosecutorial experience, and little in the way of loyalist Republican credentials.
That leaves two others: Former San Francisco U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello and Interim U.S. Attorney Scott Schools. The former — currently of counsel at Cooley Godward Kronish — certainly has the experience and seems to be the frontrunner. But he’s also grated on some of the judges and federal bar over the last couple of decades, and some in the San Francisco Federal Building would rather see a fresher person in the position. Schools — a career DOJ guy, solid Republican and an heir to the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain fortune — could end up being the guy. He’s remarkably well-liked by the lawyers who work for him, the defense bar speaks highly, and he made quite an impression on the bench last month with a well-received speech at the Northern District Judicial Conference.
— Justin Scheck
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