TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 9, 2020

Kamala Harris’s election as vice president creates a quandary for her husband about how to navigate his law career, Bloomberg Law reports. While the types of cases Doug Emhoff handles as an entertainment and commercial attorney are not likely to generate White House intrigue, his partnership at DLA Piper poses broad conflict-of-interest questions, especially given the firm’s lobbying clients, which include major companies and foreign governments. Emhoff is currently on a leave of absence from the firm. The article also suggests that ethical limits for government officials’ lawyer spouses remain largely unclear, especially for vice presidents, who are not covered by many federal conflict-of-interest rules.