Former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband, is having no problems easing back into the public life after his wife’s stint in the White House.
Emhoff, 60, is returning to this legal roots, landing a gig at a high profile law firm.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP named Emhoff as a partner and will split his time between Los Angeles and New York for the role, according to an announcement from the firm.
“I am delighted to be joining Willkie, where I am looking forward to working alongside trusted and innovative legal counselors,” Emhoff said in a Monday statement. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join this talented and collaborative team.”Willkie Farr & Gallagher is based in New York and employs more than 1,200 people.
The firm said Emhoff will focus on giving advice to business leaders, corporations, boards of directors on “matters with significant reputational concerns that are international in scope and emerging legal issues across industries and sectors.”
“Doug’s leadership and his service as a trusted counselor to many global business leaders across a broad range of industries, as well as his extensive legal expertise and business acumen, make him a tremendous asset,” Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s chairman Thomas Cerabino said in a statement.
“We’re thrilled to be adding Doug to the Willkie partnership during this period of transformational firm growth.”
Emhoff will also continue his service on the board of trustees of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and continue as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in DC.
Former President Joe Biden had tapped Emhoff to serve on the Holocaust Memorial Museum board of trustees shortly before he left office.
However, Emhoff’s new job does come with some baggage.
During his past stint at Venable, a law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, Emhoff was subject to accusations of engaging in “inappropriate” and “misogynistic” behavior toward his female colleagues, according to The Daily Mail.
According to the New York Post, in a lawsuit from 2019 Emhoff was accused of hiring an assistant named “Katya” who was widely considered unqualified but was “young, attractive and friendly with the powerful men in the office.”
Emhoff has decades of experience in law. In 2017, he joined DLA Piper, a global law firm, as a partner before departing the company when Harris ascended to the vice presidency.