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NEWS DECEMBER 7, 2020 ¦ 17

James Comey to Teach at Columbia Law

By Karen Sloan

Columbia Law School has landed a big name
to teach next semester: Former FBI Director
James Comey.
The school announced Tuesday that Comey will
be a “Leader in Residence” as part of the school’s
Reuben Mark Initiative, which each year brings two
corporate executives, law firm leaders, and high-lev-
el government workers to campus to teach, advise
students, and participate in law school program-
ming. Comey is being joined by former Facebook
general counsel Colin Stretch, who will again teach a
spring semester seminar called “The Role of General
Counsel in the Modern Economy.” (Stretch, who left
Facebook in 2019, was also a Leader in Residence at Former FBI Director James Comey testifies about
Columbia last spring.) his firing by President Donald Trump during a Senate

Intelligence Committee hearing on June 8, 2017.

The Columbia post is also a return of sorts for Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Comey, who spent several months in 2013 as a se- “I hope to God it had no impact on the election,”
nior research scholar and fellow in national security Comey said during that talk. “It was a terrible deci-
law at the Manhattan school before his FBI appoint- sion. It was just better than the alternative, which
ment by President Barack Obama. He’s not an alum was simply awful.”
of the school, however. Comey got his law degree Comey also urged students to pursue public ser-
from the University of Chicago Law School. vice careers during his visit earlier this year. He
Comey led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, and in 2016 held several high-level posts within the U.S. De-
received the ire of Democrats for reopening the in- partment of Justice during the administration of
vestigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of emails George W. Bush, but left the department in 2005 to
when she was the Secretary of State, just weeks be- take a series of general counsel roles in the private
fore the presidential election. Trump fired Comey sector, including at Lockheed Martin and Bridge-
in May 2017 after he ended that investigation and water Associates. Beginning in January, he will
opened one over potential Russian interference teach a seminar course at Columbia called “Law-
in the election. Mere days after his firing, Comey yers and Leaders.”
arranged for a memo he had drafted after early meet- Comey is due to release his second book, titled
ings with Trump, which describe Trump attempting “Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust,” in
to get him to pledge loyalty and pressuring Comey January.
to back off an investigation of Trump associate Mi- ¦

chael Flynn, to be leaked to the press. Karen Sloan is the Legal Education Editor and
During a lunchtime talk held at Columbia Law in Senior Writer at ALM. Contact her at ksloan@
February, Comey said he regretted how that memo alm.com. On Twitter: @KarenSloanNLJ Sign
was leaked and said he should have done it himself. up for Ahead of the Curve—her weekly email
Comey also spoke about his handling of the Clinton update on trends and innovation in legal edu-
email investigation, telling students the decision to re- cation—here: https://www.law.com/briefings/
open the inquiry was the best of several bad options. ahead-of-the-curve/

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