Margaret Richardson

Margaret Richardson, who recently left the U.S. Department of Justice as Chief of Staff and Counselor to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., has joined Covington’s global public policy and white collar defense and investigations practices. From the firm’s Washington office, Ms. Richardson will provide strategic advice to clients confronting high-stakes, multidimensional challenges arising at the intersection of law and public policy, both domestically and abroad. Her focus will be on complex policy engagement, multi-forum disputes, government enforcement actions, and crisis response. Prior to transitioning to private practice, Ms. Richardson played important roles on President Obama’s 2008 campaign before joining the Presidential Transition team as the Liaison to Department of Justice Agency Review Team. She was appointed Chief of Staff and Counselor to Attorney General Holder in 2012, following roles as the Attorney General’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor and as Counselor for Executive Branch Relations. As Chief of Staff, Ms. Richardson served as the Attorney General’s principal advisor with respect to the entire range of matters pending before the Justice Department, including criminal investigations and prosecutions, complex civil litigation, national security matters, congressional and inspector general investigations, and all significant management matters. She regularly served as DOJ’s principal liaison to the White House, other Executive Branch agencies, Congress, and foreign governments, and she played important roles in the implementation of many of the Obama Administration’s most significant domestic and international legal and policy initiatives, including criminal justice reform, protection of voting rights, financial fraud and environmental enforcement, the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, cybersecurity and surveillance reform, efforts to combat violent extremism, and asset-forfeiture reform. “Margaret is not just one of the best lawyers with whom I have worked,” Holder said. “She played a key role in nearly every significant Department of Justice issue over the past six years, and as my Chief of Staff was responsible for many of our greatest successes. I am confident her wise counsel will prove as invaluable to our clients as it did to me and to officials throughout the Obama Administration.” Ms. Richardson is the recipient of the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service, the highest award bestowed by the Department of Justice. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Law School (Boalt Hall). She previously served as a Practice Director and Supervising Attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center, in Oakland, California.