Vice President-elect Harris’ husband to join Georgetown Law faculty

[December 11, 2020]  By Michael Martina

(Reuters) - Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will join the faculty at Georgetown Law, the school said on Thursday, a new job for the business lawyer who will become the United States’ first-ever second gentleman.

Emhoff said shortly after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in November’s presidential election that he would leave his job at powerhouse law firm DLA Piper to focus on supporting the incoming Biden administration ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

He had taken a leave of absence from the firm to spend time on the campaign trail for Biden and Harris, who will be the first woman U.S. vice president.

“Doug is one of the nation’s leading intellectual property and business litigators, and he has a strong commitment to social justice. I know our students will greatly benefit from his experience and insight, and I am eagerly looking forward to his arrival,” Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor said in a statement.

Emhoff, who will join the faculty in January, will teach classes pertaining to entertainment law disputes and will serve as a distinguished fellow at the school’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy, the Washington-based school said.

U.S. Senator and Democratic candidate for Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff celebrate after Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination during the 4th and final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, U.S. August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Harris and Emhoff have been married since 2014, when she was serving as California's attorney general. She became a U.S. senator for California in 2017. Emhoff’s clients have included makers of the movie "American Made" and National Football League wide receiver Willie Gault, as well as corporations Merck and Walmart, court records show.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and David Gregorio)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.