Johnson, Jeh, 1957-

A partner in the Litigation Department, Jeh Johnson has had a distinguished career combining private law practice at Paul, Weiss and senior-level public service, including three Senate-confirmed presidential appointments. In public life, he served as Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017), General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012), General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force (1998-2001) and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1989-1991). In private practice, Secretary Johnson is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer, and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Since returning to Paul, Weiss in 2017, Secretary Johnson also advises clients, including high-tech companies and government contractors, on the legal aspects of cybersecurity, national security, data privacy, government contracting, crisis management, high-stakes litigation and regulatory matters.

<p>Jeh Charles Johnson was born in New York City in 1957. He graduated from Morehouse College in 1979 before receiving his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1982.</p>

<p>Johnson began his career as an attorney in private practice before moving onto national security and law enforcement. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1989 to 1991. Johnson then entered private practice as a trial lawyer at the New York City-based law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &amp; Garrison LLP. In 1998, President Clinton appointed Johnson General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. He held this position until 2001, when he returned to private law practice.</p>

<p>Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security, Johnson served in the Obama administration as General Counsel for the Department of Defense, where he served as the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense and the legal adviser to the Secretary of Defense. He was sworn in on December 23, 2013, as the fourth Secretary of Homeland Security.</p>

<p>Jeh Charles Johnson (/ˈdʒeɪ/ "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. He previously was the General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2012 during the first years of the Obama Administration. He is currently a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &amp; Garrison and a board of directors member at Lockheed Martin Corporation.</p>

<p>Jeh Johnson was the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from December 23, 2013 to January 20, 2017. As such, he led the third largest Department of the U.S. government, with a workforce of 229,000 employees and 22 components including TSA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. Under Secretary Johnson’s leadership, DHS was responsible for counterterrorism, cybersecurity, aviation security, border security, port security, maritime security, administration and enforcement of our immigration laws, protection of our national leaders, protection of critical infrastructure, detection of and protection against chemical, biological and nuclear threats to the homeland, and response to disasters.</p>

<p>Secretary Johnson was appointed by President Obama on December 23, 2013, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-16. Previously, Secretary Johnson was appointed by President Obama to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 through 2012. In that position, Johnson was one of the legal architects for the U.S. military’s counterterrorism mission during President Obama’s first term , and he gave several notable public addresses on the subject, including at the Oxford Union in November 2012. In 2010, Johnson also co-authored a 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal by Congress of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law that prohibited gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. From October 1998 to January 2001, Johnson served in the Clinton Administration as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. From 1989 through 1991, Secretary Johnson was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases. </p>

<p>Secretary Johnson is a native New Yorker, and in private life has been a corporate lawyer with the New York City-based law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &amp; Garrison. He was present in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, which also happens to be his birthday.</p>

<p>Secretary Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a 1979 graduate of Morehouse College, a 1982 graduate of Columbia Law School, and the recipient of nine honorary degrees.</p>