Emmet Flood has served in two administrations as Counsel to the President, Deputy Counsel to the President and Special Counsel to the President.  In the last 25 years, he has advised many senior government officials and has represented central figures in nearly every major legal crisis arising in Washington, D.C.  He has, as The National Law Journal put it, “unparalleled experience counseling presidents under fire.”  

On ABC News Mr. Flood has been called “one of the top lawyers in the country.”  He has been described on NPR as “cerebral, scholarly and cool under fire,” with an “extraordinary reputation for independence and integrity,” in matters “with stakes as big as they come.”  And in The Wall Street Journal he was called “probably the greatest talent at scandal management,” with a “ferocious competitiveness.”

His clients have included individuals in both the public and private sectors, as well as corporations and professional services firms, facing crisis situations, investigations and other sensitive matters.  They include three Presidents, two Vice Presidents, public company CEOs, numerous Cabinet-level and senior White House officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations, and top-tier law, accounting and private equity firms.  He has represented clients in five nationally significant Independent/Special Counsel investigations.

His publicly known representations include:

  • January 6 Select Committee and Grand Jury Matter: Representation of Vice President Mike Pence and his Chief of Staff Marc Short.
  • Robert S. Mueller III Special Counsel Investigation into Alleged Russia Collusion: Special Counsel to President Donald Trump.
  • Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill: Representation of Cameron International, manufacturer of the Macondo well blowout preventer, in more than a dozen Department of Justice (DOJ), Congressional and administrative investigations and civil cases.
  • U.S. Attorneys Firing Matter: Deputy Counsel to President George W. Bush and counsel to President Bush for post-Presidency matters.
  • U.S. v. Lewis Libby Matter: Representation of Vice President Dick Cheney in the Valerie Plame grand jury investigation and related civil litigation.
  • Independent Counsel Investigation and In re: Impeachment of President William J. Clinton: Representation of President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Flood has advised public company CEOs and other business executives from the defense, energy, entertainment and other sectors in matters involving the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), state attorneys general and other investigative/regulatory entities.  He has represented two of the Big Four accounting firms in dozens of professional liability matters and investigations relating to tax advice and accounting services, as well as several leading U.S. law firms in professional liability matters.  And he has represented numerous companies in Congressional investigations, including clients in the defense, banking, pharmaceutical, technology and energy sectors, an Ivy League university, and many individuals including cabinet-level officials of both parties.

Complementing the broad perspective on the federal government acquired during his terms of White House service, Mr. Flood’s private sector work includes white collar matters with federal and state grand juries, federal agency investigations and inspectors general.  It also includes representing clients in matters involving the Departments of State, Treasury (DOT), Interior (DOI) and Labor (DOL) as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other independent federal agencies.

He is a member of the American Law Institute.

Education

Clerkships

Admissions

Other Government Service

Counsel to the President of the United States, 2018

Special Counsel to the President of the United States, 2018-2019

Deputy Counsel to the President of the United States, 2008-2009

Special Counsel to the President of the United States, 2007-2008

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