U.S. House litigator, a former Breyer clerk, joins Hogan Lovells – Reuters

Hogan Lovells law offices in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

William Havemann reunites with team of other former clerks to Justice Stephen Breyer
Havemann was on House litigation team that clashed with Trump over tax records

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(Reuters) – A lawyer who served in the U.S. House general counsel’s office since 2019 advocating against then-President Donald Trump in various court clashes joined the Washington office of Hogan Lovells on Monday to work on appellate matters.

William Havemann, who clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer during the 2018-2019 term, worked at the U.S. Capitol under the leadership of Douglas Letter, the U.S. House general counsel who has led a number of lawsuits seeking to enforce subpoenas against Trump and others in his orbit. Havemann left the office in July and is joining Hogan Lovells as a senior associate.

“I’ve watched Will from a distance for a few years, and have always been beyond impressed with him,” Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal, co-leader of the firm’s appellate team, said. “We were fortunate that two of his co-clerks, Jo-Ann Sagar and Sundeep Iyer, are with us and they were instrumental in sharing their experiences with Will about practicing appellate law at Hogan Lovells.”

Havemann, Sagar and Iyer were colleagues in Breyer’s chambers with Janine Lopez, now a senior associate at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, and Alec Schierenbeck, deputy state solicitor for New Jersey.

Hogan Lovells is widely recognized for its appellate prowess. Katyal leads the practice with Cate Stetson, and both lawyers actively litigate at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Coming to Hogan was an easy choice,” Havemann said in an email. “I’m thrilled to be working with Cate and Neal and the outstanding group of appellate lawyers they have assembled here.”

As an associate general counsel, Havemann helped manage litigation in separation-of-powers disputes and helped prepare briefs on behalf of the House managers who led the two impeachment trials of Trump, the law firm said. Havemann worked with colleagues on House efforts to obtain financial records from Trump and for the testimony of former Trump White House counsel Donald McGahn.

Letter has led the House general counsel’s office since January 2019, and his team in some matters brought on outside pro bono help from big law firms including Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Sidley Austin; Munger, Tolles & Olson; and Debevoise & Plimpton. Letter’s office also worked with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.

Former appellate associate Stacie Fahsel joined the general counsel’s office last month from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Eric Columbus, a former Justice Department lawyer who served as a counsel at Wilmer, joined Letter’s office a year ago as special litigation counsel. A former Hogan Lovells senior associate, Brooks Hanner, has served as an associate general counsel for three years.

Megan Barbero, a former House deputy general counsel, left the office in July to join the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as deputy general counsel. Barbero had joined Letter’s team in 2019 from the U.S. Justice Department, where she was an appellate litigator.

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