What White House Lawyers Made Before Becoming White House Lawyers

Perhaps most staggering is what Profs at Top Ten Law Schools Make

White House Lawyers Report their Private Sector Salaries
Private sector life was good to many of the lawyers now staffing President Barack Obama’s Office of White House Counsel. Financial disclosure forms released this month show that lawyers from universities and, of course, private law firms made well above what they’re likely to bring home as White House lawyers. (In 2008, lawyer salaries in the White House Counsel’s office ranged from $100,000 to $172,200.)

Gregory Craig, now White House counsel, will be the highest paid lawyer in the counsel’s office, but his paycheck won’t measure up to his earnings at Williams & Connolly, where he made $1.7 million as a partner last year. (More on Craig’s financial disclosures here.)

Norman Eisen, now special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, made $1.3 million as a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder.

Associate counsel Jonathan Kravis and Christian Weideman made $220,000 and $310,000 respectively as associates at Williams & Connolly.

Susan Sher, associate counsel to the president and counsel to the first lady, previously brought home $718,477 from the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was general counsel and vice president for legal and governmental affairs.

Daniel Meltzer, principal deputy counsel, made $371,454 at Harvard Law School, where he was the Story Professor of Law and the vice dean for physical planning.

Associate counsel for national security affairs Trevor Morrison made $276,667 at Columbia University School of Law as a professor. His disclosure also shows that he made $68,073 from Cornell University Law School.

Allison Nathan, an associate counsel, earned $135,000 as an assistant professor at Fordham University Law School, and took home a $40,0000 fellowship from the New York University School of Law.