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James Hamilton
Retired Partner
Morgan Lewis
Mr. Jim Hamilton is a retired Principal at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Among Jim’s prominent cases are the representations of Sens. DeConcini, Durenberger, and Talmadge before the Senate Ethics Committee. He also successfully argued in separate cases to the US Supreme Court that attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client and that survivors have a right of privacy under the Freedom of Information Act.
Jim engaged in the Fannie Mae investigations and litigations, the Major League Baseball steroids investigations, litigation involving law firms and legal ethics, litigation regarding Indian gaming, and the well-publicized investigation into the leak of a CIA operative’s name, in which he represented the late columnist, Bob Novak. He has also conducted several confidential internal investigations for major institutions. Jim is additionally general counsel of a prominent Washington-based trade association.
Jim was assistant chief counsel of the Senate Watergate Committee. He served as deputy chief counsel in the Alaska Senate Impeachment Inquiry in 1985, and during 1983–1984 was special counsel to the Human Resources Subcommittee, Post Office, and Civil Service Committee, US House of Representatives, for its investigation of the 1980 Ronald Reagan campaign.
Jim was chief counsel of the Special Joint Committee on Referendum Review for the Congress of Micronesia in 1978. He also served as the Clinton-Gore transition counsel for nominations and confirmations and as the principal Clinton White House Vetter for Supreme Court nominations. Jim oversaw vetting vice-presidential candidates in 2000 for Al Gore and in 2004 for John Kerry and served in a similar role for Sen. Obama in 2008. He also vetted candidates for Cabinet, the Department of Justice, White House, and Supreme Court for the Obama administration.