Secretary Johnson Reflects on His Career in Public Service in Super Lawyers Magazine

Litigation partner Jeh Johnson was featured in the Super Lawyers New York Metro 2022 cover story on his storied career and many accomplishments in public service. In “The Public Service Call: Jeh Johnson Keeps Giving Back to His Country,” published on September 28, Secretary Johnson reflects on how he ended up choosing law as a career; his path to becoming general counsel of the Department of Defense and later Secretary of Homeland Security; his role in making the legal case for killing Osama bin Laden and ending the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy; and his most recent public service engagement, an in-depth review of the New York State Unified Court System’s policies and practices on issues of race in 2020.

Secretary Johnson says he always encourages young lawyers to consider a career in public service. “Avoid golden handcuffs,” he says. “You will find that even though you may make a fraction of what you could make in private practice, public service can be very gratifying and rewarding. The first few paragraphs of my obituary will be the things I did in public service.”

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