Palo Alto-based Boies Schiller partner to be Newsom’s chief of staff

Ann M. O'Leary, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom's new chief of staff, may be better known in legal circles than she is to the Sacramento political class.

The Palo Alto-based partner with Boies Schiller Flexner LLP brings an impressive and diverse resume to the job -- including filing amicus briefs against the Trump administration. A former adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, she graduated from and has taught at UC Berkeley School of Law.

"Gov.-elect Newsom's courage in fighting for the rights of all Californians has long been an inspiration to me," O'Leary said in an email. "On behalf of myself and my children, I am grateful that he will lead our state as the next governor, and I'm honored he asked me to serve the people of California as his chief of staff to help carry out his vision for expanding opportunity for all Californians."

Her appointment was immediately praised by high profile Democrats -- and by her law firm.

"Clients and colleagues alike count on Ann for her wise counsel, smart perspective, and great calm under pressure," said Christopher G. Caldwell, a partner who heads Boies Schiller's Los Angeles office. "Our loss is a great gain for the people of the State of California."

O'Leary may be best known, however, for her work for Hillary Clinton on economics, education and health policy. The naming of an attorney with a resume in national politics was widely seen as another sign that Newsom could be more liberal and more confrontational than Gov. Jerry Brown.

She is also known to court watchers for another reason: O'Leary has been married to California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin H. Liu since 2002. They separated in 2016 and have two children.

O'Leary will come into the job with a good deal of high profile legal experience, more than Xavier Becerra had when Brown appointed him attorney general two years ago. The former 12-term U.S. representative has since fought nearly 50 battles with the Trump administration and easily won a full term last week.

O'Leary has filed two amicus briefs in San Francisco v. Trump, 2018 DJDAR 7545, the city of San Francisco's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary districts.

The first, filed last year with Boies partner Maxwell V. Pritt in the Northern District, was submitted on behalf of five law professors arguing for San Francisco's motion for summary judgment.

It quickly honed in on a procedural argument, taking aim at the "Sessions memo." This was issued in May 2017 by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an attempt to narrow and clarify the order to better withstand judicial scrutiny.

"Attorney General Sessions' attempt to modify EO 13,768, under the guise of providing guidance on the implementation of the EO, is contrary to law," they wrote. "Outside the courts, only the president -- or Congress (if acting pursuant to relevant constitutional authority) -- has the authority to modify, nullify, repeal or replace a presidential directive issued through an executive order."

The pair took on the Sessions memo again in February when the case hit the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, warning judges against establishing "a dangerous precedent concerning the scope of agency power and the interpretation of presidential directives." The court ruled in San Francisco's favor in August.

Working with a trio of Boies attorneys, she filed an amicus brief in May on behalf of the National Women's Law Center in a sex discrimination lawsuit. Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Inc., 18-1206 (4th Cir., filed May 15, 2018).

The brief urges a reversal of a lower court ruling denying a sexual discrimination case by arguing that rumors a woman obtained a promotion in exchange for sexual favors constitutes a hostile work environment. There has been no ruling on the appeal yet.