by Nina Hart
Meet Joe Whitley, the incoming
Chair of the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Below, he shares
his goals for the Section, insight into his experience with administrative law,
and thoughts on challenges facing the legal profession.
1. Where do you
work now and what led you to a career in law?
I am currently working at
Greenberg Traurig (GT) law firm. I have
two offices – one in Atlanta, Georgia and the other in Washington, DC. I serve as Chair of GT’s Atlanta White Collar
Practice and work as a shareholder in GT’s White Collar Practice in the
Washington, DC office.
I have always wanted to be an
attorney since I can remember. The legal
profession has always been a passion of mine and I am proud to have been given
the privilege and opportunity to serve both in the public and now private
sectors.
2. What experiences
with administrative or regulatory law have you had? What interested you in administrative law?
My experiences in
administrative and regulatory law occurred mostly in the interpretation of
regulations in criminal settings earlier in my career as a U.S. Attorney and a
DOJ official in Washington, DC.
Regulations play a substantial role in the enforcement arena in health
care, environmental cases and securities cases among others.
Later, when I defended the
practices of my clients, a strong knowledge of regulations gave me an advantage
in my casework. For example, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
regulations played a crucial role in one case I defended after returning to
private practice.
Finally, most recently when I
served as first General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
my office had the overwhelming responsibility of coordinating the regulatory
startup of DHS. Fortunately, we had the
great privilege of working with regulatory experts throughout the legacy
agencies that made up the new Department.
3. Do you have any
advice about “best practices” for attorneys who are preparing to handle
administrative law cases or who are participating in the rulemaking
process? Or, for attorneys representing
government agencies?
My counsel is to keep all of
your options open early in your career, to consider practice areas outside of
your comfort zone. Sometimes success is
defined as traveling in different directions.
Hopefully, more law firms and the government appreciate the need for younger
lawyers to have a diversity of experience early in their career.
I would advise attorneys who
are preparing to handle administrative law cases or who are participating in
the rulemaking process to join and be active in the Administrative Law Section,
together with building a group of peers who practice administrative law. There is no better way to get a grip on “best
practices” than to have a group of colleagues to help you set the approach/tone
for your casework.
4. As someone who
has spent significant amounts of time in government and also in private
practice, do you have any advice for attorneys who similarly hope to work in
both the public and private sectors?
I know I may sound like a
broken record on the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law &
Regulatory Practice Section blog, but I believe we are the right place to start
for young lawyers, both in the public and private sectors, who are looking for
mentors in the practice of Administrative Law.
5. What do you
think are the biggest challenges facing administrative law practitioners? How
could the Section assist attorneys with these challenges?
I believe the challenges that
AdLaw practitioners face may not be unique to them, but perhaps apply across
the board to the practice of law in the United States. Our still shaky economy is impacting the
practice of law and the economics of law practice. All of this is happening at a time when the
relevance of administrative law has never been greater.
6. As incoming
Chair of the Section, what are your priorities or goals for the Section this
year? Are there ways the Section members
may be able to help you achieve these goals?
I want the AdLaw Section to
continue its outstanding programs in my year as Chair, together with its many
publications. Also, I will be utilizing
the various Committees of the Section to help grow our membership. I will be giving a special emphasis to the
private sectors and their concerns about overregulation. Plus, I plan to build a stronger regional
presence for the Section through the help of our Committees, Subcommittees and
Liaisons. Finally, I will be adapting
and adjusting the Section’s web page and blog to make them more user-friendly.
7. What advice
might you give to lawyers or law students interested in being more involved
with the Section? Perhaps you could
explain how and why you became involved with the ABA and this Section.
The AdLaw Section’s motto,
“Administrative Law – Everybody Does It!” can’t be any clearer. I’d encourage lawyers and law students to
sign up with the Section today. The cost
is minimal compared to other Sections and trust me, they won’t regret it. The AdLaw Section is relevant to lawyers and
law students in a number of ways. For
me, regulatory law was central to my time at DHS as the first General
Counsel. The startup of the Department
required intense involvement by me in the regulatory process. After my tenure at DHS, it was important to
me to find the right home for a seminar on Homeland Security Law. For the last eight years, the AdLaw Section
has been home to the Homeland Security Law Institute. We have started plans for the conference in
March of 2014. Don’t forget to “Save the
Date!”
8. For law students
or new attorneys considering a career in administrative law, what do you think
would be a good way of familiarizing themselves with the field?
The best way to start the
familiarization process would be to take a course on Administrative Law while
still in law school. Outside of
coursework, there are a number of outstanding publications by the Section that are
worth mentioning:
- Developments in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice 2012
- Veterans Appeals Guidebook: Representing Veterans in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
- Federal Agency Adjudication
- Federal Agency Rulemaking
- Federal Tort Claims Act
- The Complete Guide to Lobbying Law and Practice, 4th Edition
- Blackletter Administrative Law
- Judicial and Political Review
- Federal Preemption of State Law
- Federal Administrative Procedure Sourcebook
- Homeland Security: Legal and Policy Issue
- Realists Guide to Redistricting
- International Election Principles
- Government in the Sunshine Act
- Lawyers in Your Living Room
- The Cost-Benefit State: The Future of Regulatory Protection, Cass R. Sunstein
- Evolving Use and the Changing Role of Interstate Compacts
- Careers in Administrative Law
- Law of Counterterrorism
- Supreme Court Takings: A First Look at Koontz and Horne
- Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure
- Manipulation or Arbitrage: Energy Traders, FERC, and the RTOs
- Administrative Law of the European Union
I would also encourage law
students and young lawyers to attend the annual Administrative Law Institute in
the Spring of 2014. The conference
provides a pre-program workshop on “Administrative Law 101” which gives a crash
course in Administrative Law. Many of
our attendees have found it to be useful.
9. Outside of the
law, what are your favorite activities or hobbies?
I enjoy sports – mostly
watching these days. I used to play
basketball in high school and college. I
have a small garden that I get to toil in every once in a while. I also enjoy American history. And of course, there is my love of books –
I’ve purchased many more than I will ever read.
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