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David Ogden

Attorney, WilmerHale (since February 2010)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Why He Matters

Ogden was Barack Obama's pick for deputy attorney general (DAG) at the Justice Department (DOJ), a job that has been described as the department's chief operating officer. Though the attorney general acts as Justice's public face and handles many prominent cases, the DAG general manages the thousands of DOJ attorneys.

Ogden's confirmation was opposed by conservative groups for his work representing Playboy and becasue of a child pornography case in which he wrote a brief. Though his nomination was delayed because of this casework, he was eventually confirmed in March 2009.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department (March 2009-February 2009); Justice Department liaison for Barack Obama 's transition team (November 2008 to January 2009); Partner at WilmerHale (2001 to 2009); Assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the Justice Department (1999 to 2001); Chief of Staff to the attorney general (1998 to 1999)
Birthday: November 12, 1953
Hometown: Washington D.C.

Alma Mater: Grinnell College, attended, 1971 to 1973; University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1976; Johns Hopkins University, attended, 1977; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1981
Spouse: Anne Harkavy
Web site

Path to Power

Ogden was born on Nov. 12, 1953, in Washington D.C. His father, Horace "Hod" Ogden, was the first director of the Center for Disease Control's Bureau of Health Education. David Ogden credits his father for teaching him "about the great virtues of public service."

Ogden went to Grinnell College in Iowa, but after two years he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated summa cum laude in 1976, and spent a year teaching English in Bogota, Colombia.

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After returning to the U.S., Ogden enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, where he began working on a master's degree in English literature. But after just a semester, Ogden, who had gotten accepted at Harvard Law School, withdrew from the graduate program and worked as a paralegal at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington D.C. The next September, he started at Harvard, and he graduated magna cum laude in 1981.

Following graduation, he clerked for Abraham D. Sofaer, a federal district court judge in New York before earning a clerkship for Justice Harry Blackmun at the Supreme Court. In October 1983, he took a job as an associate for the Washington law firm Ennis, Friedman, Bersoff & Ewing, a small litigation firm started in part by Bruce Ennis, former legal director of the ACLU. Just two years later, Ogden made partner at the firm. It merged with Jenner & Block in 1988, and Ogden worked as a partner at that law firm until 1994.

Government Career

In 1992, Ogden began teaching at Georgetown University Law Center, and in 1994, he made his first move into the public sector. For one year, he worked at the Pentagon as the deputy general counsel and legal counsel for the Department of Defense.

In 1995, he moved to Justice, where he worked until President Clinton left office. At Justice, he started as associate deputy attorney general and worked as counselor to the attorney general, the AG's chief of staff and assistant AG for the Civil Division, which defends the federal government against litigation. "Few jobs afford as great an opportunity to use a litigator's skills in the service of our country, its Constitution, and the American people," Ogden said at his confirmation hearing.

After Clinton left the White House, Ogden left the Justice Department. He returned to private practice as a partner at WilmerHale, where he was cochair of the government and regulatory litigation group. After Obama won the 2008 presidential election, Ogden joined the president's transition team, where he worked as the DOJ liaison. Obama tapped Ogden to be AG Holder's deputy until early 2010.

The Issues

Ogden is one of Washington's premier litigation attorneys, and most of his professional career has revolved around complex litigation and dispute resolution. At WilmerHale, he was co-chair of the government and regulatory litigation group. Ogden said he has "developed a complex litigation and crisis management practice focused on high-stakes civil litigation, constitutional and administrative law issues, and legal-business problems having policy or regulatory dimensions."

The deputy attorney general post has been described as the chief operating officer at Justice. Although the job involves a lot of internal management, mistakes can bring unwanted public attention. Former Bush Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty left after being slammed by lawmakers for his role in the allegedly political firings in 2006 of nine U.S. attorneys. The episode ultimately led to the departure of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

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Tobacco Litigation

Ogden describes his most significant litigated case as Lorillard Tobacco Company v. American Legacy Foundation, where he represented the American Legacy Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to reducing youth smoking.

In that case, Lorillard charged that the ALF's public education advertisements included "vilification" and "personal attacks," and the ALF took the case to court when Lorillard threatened to sue them. Both the Delaware Chancery Court and the Delaware Supreme Court said the advertisements were valid.

Clients

Ogden also represented Shell Oil Co. in a case brought against the company by Nicaraguan workers, and he represented the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in a case against the District of Columbia. Ogden argued that D.C. law essentially had set caps on the price of patented prescription drugs.

Other important Ogden clients include Lebanese American University, the National Association of Broadcasters, the American Psychological Association and Playboy Enterprises, Inc. He wrote a book, "Legal Risk Management for Associations," which detailed the laws affecting trade and professional associations.

Social Issues

Ogden's work on behalf of some of his clients drew criticism from conservative groups, and was the basis for much of his questioning during his 2009 Senate confirmation hearings.

Ogeden represented Playboy in a suit against the federal government when the Library of Congress refused to print Braille versions of the magazine, and argued on behalf of librarians against mandated Internet filtering systems in libraries. He also filed a brief on behalf of the ACLU that supported a man convicted of possession of child pornography.

"You've taken some very extraordinary positions, some left-leaning and unorthodox positions," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said at Ogden's confirmation hearing. Ogden said he hoped he would not be judged by arguments made for clients and was very clear that he thought "child pornography is abhorrent."

The politics slowed Ogden's confirmation as some conservative senators were concerned by his past clients. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Ogden "is more than just a lawyer who has had a few unsavory clients. He has devoted a substantial part of his career, case after case, for 20 years, in defense of pornography." Nevertheless, he was easily confirmed two months after being nominated for the job.

Constitutional Scholar

From 1992 to 1995, Ogden, a constitutional scholar, taught a course on the First Amendment at Georgetown University Law Center called "Theories of Free Speech."

He submitted hundreds of briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in his two decades of litigation, and he once argued in front of the Supreme Court on behalf of Tony Saffold, a California prisoner who challenged the court's dismissal of his habeas petition. The details of the case involve the time period when defendants can file for federal habeas relief in a state conviction.

Ogden argued for, and won in a 5-to-4 decision, an expansion of habeas rights that allowed defendants to respond to a lower court's decision within a reasonable time period without being penalized.

The Network

During his first stint at Justice, Ogden worked as counselor and chief of staff to Attorney General Janet Reno. Attorney General Eric Holder was deputy attorney general when Ogden was an assistant AG. Ogden also worked under Deputy Attorney General Seth Waxman, who also served as solicitor general and is currently a partner at WilmerHale.

His wife, Anne Harkavy, is a partner at WilmerHale, working with the public policy team. In 2004, she briefly left the firm to work as deputy national counsel for Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.) presidential bid. She was named by Times Online as one of the "future stars of America."

Campaign Contributions

Ogden is a consistent Democratic donor. He gave $4,300 to Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign after donating $500 to Obama when he was running for Senate in 2004. His wife, Anne Harkavy, donated $4,600 to Obama in 2008 and gave to the DSCC.

Additional Resources