Lawyers Not Clamoring To Fill District U.S. Attorney Position

By ELAINE SILVESTRINI The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2007

TAMPA - The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida is the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official for a large swath of the state covering more than half the population and stretching from the Georgia border to south of Naples.

The U.S. Attorney oversees criminal prosecutions and federal government civil litigation conducted from offices in Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando and Fort Myers.

Under normal circumstances, the $145,000-a-year job would be appealing for lawyers - especially Republicans with a Republican administration - who want to have an impact and see it as a steppingstone to something lucrative or influential.

When Paul Perez stepped down from the job in March to work for Fidelity National Financial, however, lawyers did not break down the doors to fill the position, now held on an acting basis by James Klindt, who was Perez's first assistant.

A search committee gave notice to the legal community March 30, giving candidates until May 1 to send in applications for the job. Just one person applied, said Marcos Marchena, an Orlando lawyer who is chairman of the judicial nominating commission for the district.

He did not disclose the applicant's name.

"We were pretty ambitious in the time frame we initially set out," Marchena said. He said lawyers didn't have time to "review this important decision."

The application period has been extended to June 15 in hopes of attracting more applicants, Marchena said. Marchena said authorities are looking for a "top-notch lawyer who understands the requirements of the U.S. Attorney's Office" with a background in criminal and civil law and administrative experience.

But some lawyers say the current circumstances make the job unattractive to anyone who has a healthy practice.

"I've heard from some very qualified people that are interested in the job, but once they explore the landscape, so to speak, they say, 'Gee I don't want to jump into that unstable environment,'" said Tampa lawyer Gary Trombley, a Republican.

Logistics Make Taking Job Difficult

Lawyer Greg Kehoe, who worked for 20 years in the Justice Department, including serving as an assistant U.S. Attorney, said he also has talked to lawyers who were thinking about applying.

He said he tells them "the realities" of taking the position. The overriding deterrent, he said, is the fact that the job is likely short term and would end when President Bush leaves office.

A lawyer in private practice would have to shut it down for that time period. After stepping down, he or she would face severe restrictions on the types of clients he or she could represent. For two years, a former U.S. Attorney cannot take cases that involve the same U.S. Attorney's Office. There is a lifetime ban on taking cases that were opened under the U.S. Attorney's tenure, even if a case file was opened on that person's last day on the job.

"When you look at those very practical logistics, it's very difficult to do," Kehoe said. On the other hand, if the job were at the start of an administration and very likely to last at least four years, "there's a greater cost-benefit analysis where someone could settle in and prepare for this," said Kehoe, who also is a Republican.

Trombley said the current climate with the Justice Department in Washington is another troublesome factor.

"With the present condition of government, as relates to the attorney general - on a daily basis someone's asking him to resign - with some of the chief assistant attorney generals resigning, the direction this is going doesn't make the job appealing to a qualified person," he said.

Kehoe disagreed, saying events in Washington rarely have an effect in the field. But he said he thinks the U.S. Attorney, who must be confirmed by the Senate, will undergo greater scrutiny in the confirmation process.

'An Appealing Job'

Not everyone thinks the job is unappealing, even under the current circumstances.

Jack Rudy, who was a candidate for the job when Perez was appointed and has served as the acting state attorney for Hillsborough County, said, "I think it's an appealing job. I think it's an opportunity to perform a public service."

But Rudy, also a Republican, doesn't plan to apply. "Been there, done that," he said. He also said he didn't know anyone who might be interested in the job.

C. Todd Marks, who doesn't have a criminal-law background, said, "I think there would be numerous attorneys that would be interested in that job."

He added, "If you can't fill the Tampa U.S. Attorney's job, you'd have a tough time filling any U.S. Attorney's job. Tampa's a great city to live" in, and the district has a mix of interesting and compelling cases, ranging from drug smugglers to accused terrorists.

Marks, a Republican, said he doesn't know anyone who plans to seek the job. "There's interest, but for whatever career [reasons, they] haven't jumped on it."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.