In 2010 Fisher was recognized as one of "Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers" by the National Law Journal[8][9] and was rated among the top 45 women lawyers under 45 in 2011 by The American Lawyer in 2011.[10]
According to statements at her May 12,2005 AAG nomination hearing,Fisher graduated from law school in 1992 and then worked for "several years as an associate at Sullivan and Cromwell". Her clients included "corporations in civil litigation". She also represented an inmate on death row in a "habeas corpus appeal".[15][13]
By 2005,Fisher was a partner at the law firm of Latham &Watkins in Washington,D.C.[19] Fisher specializes in "white collar criminal investigations,internal investigations and advising clients on a range of criminal matters",[20] including:international criminal matters relating to alleged bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and similar foreign laws;economic sanction and export control issues;and criminal matters such as healthcare fraud,accounting and securities fraud and procurement fraud.[20] Fisher previously served as global co-chair of the firm's white-collar and government investigations practice group.[21][22]
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
Fisher was nominated on March 29,2005,and her nomination was sent to the Senate April 4,2005. Her nomination was stalled by Michigan Senator Carl Levin over his inquiry into interrogation tactics at the Guantanamo Bay,Cuba,naval facility.[26][27] She was confirmed by the senate on September 19,2006.[28]
According to an August 15,2005 The New York Times' article by Eric Lichtblau,Senate Democrats blocked Fisher's confirmation for about four months because of concerns over her "possible role in overseeing detention policies at Guantánamo Bay,Cuba".[19] Fisher and the Justice Department say she never took part in such meetings."[19] According to the Times article,Senator Arlen Specter said "in the interview on Friday [August 12,2005,] that he had concerns about the depth of criminal prosecution experience at the top of the Justice Department after the departure of" Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey,who left in August 2005 to be Lockheed Martin's new general counsel. Comey had been "a veteran prosecutor in Manhattan...Judiciary Committee members said that for the first time in memory,none of the most senior officials at the Justice Department"—Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales,Timothy E. Flanigan,Robert D. McCallum,Jr.,or Alice Fisher "would have experience as a criminal prosecutor."[19]
Tenure
One of Fisher's first major investigations at the DOJ was the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal which dealt with congressional corruption. In January 2006,Fisher announced a deal in which Abramoff,a Republican lobbyist,pleaded guilty to three felonies,including conspiracy to bribe public officials,in return for Abramoff's cooperation in the wide-ranging investigation into congressional corruption.[29]
In 2006,after a four-year investigation,federal prosecutors recommended to Fisher that three top Purdue Pharma executives be indicted on felony charges,including conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to a May 25,2018 CNBC article,Rudolph W. Giuliani,who was representing Purdue Pharma at the time,held meetings with Fisher. Following these meetings,Fisher "chose not to pursue indictments against Purdue Pharma for their role in opioid abuse.[30]
In Florida in 2008,during the tenure of Fisher as AAG,then U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta—who was federal prosecutor in Florida at that time—handled the "sex crimes case" of the multimillionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein who had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution.[31][32] The lawyers for Epstein's unsuccessfully lobbied Fisher and other DOJ officials to stop the sex crimes prosecution. Epstein's lawyer Ken Starr later sent Fisher a letter appealing the U.S. Attorney's stated intention to notify the victims of an appending plea deal. Starr suggested this appeal was instrumental in stopping the notifications. Fisher said her office did not make any decisions related to victim notification,a decision ultimately made by U.S. Attorney's office.[33]
According to The Washington Post,Fisher's signature initiatives during her tenure included "a crackdown on corporate bribes and a new strategy to attack international organized crime."[34]
Speaking and publications
Fisher has published articles and spoken on criminal law topics such as the Criminalization of Corporate Conduct,[35] the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,government investigations,other international compliance issues and the legal industry.[36][37]
Notes
↑ Leahy said Fisher was Chertoff's "long-time protégé".
↑ James A. Baker; Alice S. Fisher; Patrick J. Fitzgerald; George Z. Toscas (September 14, 2016), Panel II: National Security and the Rule of Law(PDF), The National Security Division at 10: Past, Present, and Future, Washington, DC, archived from the original(PDF) on May 2, 2019, retrieved July 26, 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ James A. Baker, Alice S. Fisher, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, George Z. Toscas (September 14, 2016). Panel II: National Security and the Rule of Law (video). The National Security Division at 10: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: CSIS. Event occurs at 43:10. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Alice Fisher is the managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Latham and Watkins. From 2001 to 2003, Alice was a deputy assistance attorney general for the Criminal Division – my first boss in a leadership role. I was – served as counsel to Alice. And in 2005 she was confirmed by the Senate as assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, the second woman in history to hold that position...Alice [was] deputy assistant attorney general under Mike Chertoff, who was the AAG in the Criminal Division at the time of 9/11. [Fisher spoke of changes she observed after 9/11 on the Criminal Division changes she saw after the November 2002 decision that upheld the "constitutionality of the PATRIOT Act provision that said that a significant purpose standard could be used
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