The questionable Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got a ton of flack in the early days (okay, it was like a week and a half ago, but time is not timing right now) for putting some sketchy kids in charge. But reporting from Pro Publica reveals it’s not just edgelords at DOGE, the pseudo-agency has also onboarded some attorneys with a Biglaw pedigree.
It’s unsurprising to learn that a former Jones Day partner is among those brought into the DOGE fold. Pro Publica reports James Burnham is now general counsel at DOGE. Burnham worked in the White House Counsel’s office in the Trump I administration, brought there by another former Jones Day partner, Don McGahn. The University of Chicago Law alum also has some prestigious clerkships on his resume — clerking for Justice Neil Gorsuch and disgraced former Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski. Most recently, he launch a litigation finance fund and a boutique law firm.
Keenan Kmiec is another attorney tapped by DOGE. He has clerkships on his resume (for then-Judge Samuel Alito on the federal circuit court before going on to his own SCOTUS clerkship with John Roberts), as well as a stint in Biglaw (reportedly at Sidley), before making a tech bro turn.
In 2021, Kmiec began working for a Swiss foundation that promotes a blockchain called Tezos, according to his LinkedIn. He then served for nine months as CEO of a now-defunct startup called InterPop, which described itself as “forging the future of digital fandom with comic, game, and collectible NFTs minted responsibly on the Tezos blockchain.” A former staffer at InterPop described the company in an interview as a refinement of the Magic: The Gathering card game. But the former staffer added, “We ran out of money and the game failed.”
DOGE’s penchant for employees unburdened by a ton of real world experience also continues in their attorney hires. Jacob Altik graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2021. He clerked for the far-right D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neomi Rao, spent a year and change at Weil Gotshal, and is *supposed* to start his Supreme Court clerkship with Neil Gorsuch this summer. Perhaps he’ll tire of cutting essential government funding by then.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
