Former White House Counsel W. Neil Eggleston discusses his legal career, including a discussion of his work during President Obama's term, his experience as a current Kirkland & Ellis D.C. partner, and advice to law students pursuing government. 

Mr. Eggleston has a distinguished record of public service, and has held a number of senior government roles. He was White House Counsel to President Obama from 2014 to 2017, and advised the president on all legal and constitutional issues across a broad spectrum of domestic and foreign policy matters. His practice focuses on enforcement defense including at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and other enforcement agencies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Eggleston served as Associate Counsel to President Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He also served as Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee Investigating the Iran/Contra Affair (1987–1988); Assistant U.S. Attorney (1981–1987); and Chief Appellate Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1986–1987). He served as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1978–1979) and for Chief Justice Warren E. Burger on the U.S. Supreme Court (1979–1980). He taught a seminar in Presidential Power at Harvard Law School in the spring of 2017, 2019 and 2020 and at Yale Law School in the spring of 2018. (Read more here).