Legal Briefs

Roger Witten graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. On the suggestion of a law school professor, Archibald Cox, he clerked for Judge Harrison Winter on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. When Cox became the Watergate Special Prosecutor, Judge Winter graciously wrote to Cox recommending that Witten join Cox’s staff, which Witten then did.    In 1975, Witten joined and later became a partner at Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, now called WilmerHale. He practiced in Washington and New York, focusing on large-scale civil and white-collar criminal matters that typically had international dimensions. He specialized in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters; and was a leading advocate for campaign finance reform for clients that included Senators McCain, Feingold, and van Hollen, Common Cause, Democracy 21, and the Campaign Legal Center. He is now retired from active law practice. 

Introduction

Section I—Events

Chapter 1—“For One Brief Shining Moment” by Roger M. Witten

Chapter 2—“The White House and the 9/11 Commission” by Daniel Marcus

Chapter 3—“ Who Knows What Will Happen Next?” by Robert Mundheim

Chapter 4—“Dealing with the Iranian Hostage Crisis” by Richard Davis

Chapter 5—“Richard Nixon and Me” by Henry L. Hecht

Chapter 6—“Fighting Public Corruption and Serving the Rule of Law: A Prosecutor’s Reminiscence” by Stuart M. Gerson

Chapter 7—“‘FEC’ = ‘Feckless Election Commission’” by Trevor Potter

 

Section II—People

Chapter 8—“Prelude to a Massacre” by Roger M. Witten

Chapter 9—“Resilience” by Andrew Tannenbaum

Chapter 10——“You win some …” by James L. Quarles

Chapter 11—“Defense of a Public Figure” by N. Richard Janis

Chapter 12—“Life with Justice John Paul Stevens” by Carol F. Lee

Chapter 13—“A Pair of Giants” by Louis R. Cohen

Chapter 14—“Name That Statute—Senator John Sherman And the Origin of Antitrust Law” by William Kolasky

Chapter 15—“Stabbing from the Shadows” by Nelson Johnson

Chapter 16—“The Stand-up Guy” by Roger M. Witten

 

Section III—Experiences

Chapter 17—“The Case of a Lifetime” by Harriet Newman Cohen

Chapter 18—“The Cost of Winning” by Dean Martha Minow

Chapter 19—“Silence is Golden” by Michael S. Helfer

Chapter 20—“The Law as Cross-Cultural Adventure” by Warren Cooke

Chapter 21—“Justice Delayed” by Roger M. Witten

Chapter 22—“Hungry for Justice” by Mark Kessel

Chapter 23—“Off to a Good Start” by Martin Kaplan

Chapter 24—“Good Intentions” by Roger M. Witten