| 1/7/2009 | ||
| Source: Kirkland & Ellis LLP | ||
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Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that William P. Barr has joined the Firm in an Of Counsel capacity, and will be resident in its Washington, D.C., office.
"We are very pleased to welcome Bill to the Firm," said Thomas D. Yannucci, chair of Kirkland's Worldwide Management Committee and partner in the Washington, D.C., office. "With his vast experience in private practice, government and public company settings, Bill brings a unique perspective that will be valuable in providing the highest quality advice to our clients."
Mr. Barr retired from Verizon Communications in late 2008, after serving as executive vice president since the company's formation in 2000. While at Verizon, he led the legal, regulatory and government affairs group. Mr. Barr helped steer the merger negotiations that formed Verizon, and also framed and executed the litigation strategy that paved the way for deregulation of telecommunication companies and the wide-scale deployment of broadband.
Mr. Barr began working in telecommunications in 1994, when he joined GTE as general counsel and executive vice president of government and regulatory advocacy. He served in that role from 1994 until GTE merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon in June 2000. At GTE, Mr. Barr provided legal advice to senior management and the board of directors, directed activities of the legal department, led all legislative and regulatory advocacy activities, and was responsible for the corporate secretary's department and the government affairs staff in Washington, D.C.
"As a former client, I have worked closely with Kirkland lawyers for years and have seen first-hand the quality of work that they produce," said Mr. Barr. "I look forward to working with those same talented lawyers, as colleagues, while we assist clients with some of their most difficult challenges."
Prior to joining GTE, Mr. Barr was attorney general of the United States under President George H.W. Bush, served on the White House Domestic Policy Staff under President Reagan and served in the Central Intelligence Agency.
As attorney general from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Barr established innovative programs to combat violent crime and set significant new enforcement policies in a wide range of areas, including financial institutions, civil rights and antitrust merger guidelines. He started with the U.S. Department of Justice as assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel in 1989, and then served as deputy attorney general before his appointment as attorney general in November 1991.
Mr. Barr started his legal career as law clerk to Judge Malcolm Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. From 1982 to 1983, he served on the White House Domestic Policy Staff under President Reagan, and then returned to the Washington, D.C., law firm of Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge, where he practiced as a partner until 1989.
Mr. Barr received a bachelor's degree in government in 1971 and a master's degree in government and Chinese studies in 1973 from Columbia University. He received a law degree with highest honors from George Washington University in 1977.
Mr. Barr serves on the boards of Selected Funds and Holcim US, and is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, New York and Virginia. He also serves as a trustee of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund of New York.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,500-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, intellectual property and technology, restructuring, real estate and tax. The Firm has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto and San Francisco.
