Jeh Johnson – Former Secretary of Homeland Security (HBLSA Spring Conference)

Join Harvard BLSA as they conclude the first day of their Spring Conference with Secretary Jeh Johnson with an introduction from Professor David Wilkins.

Jeh Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP.  In public life he was Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017), General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012), General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force (1998-2001), and an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1989-1991).

As Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson was the head of the third largest cabinet department of the U.S. government, consisting of 230,000 personnel and 22 components.

As General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Johnson is credited with being the legal architect for the U.S. military’s counterterrorism efforts in the Obama Administration.  In 2010, Johnson co-authored the report that paved the way for the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by Congress later that year.

In private life, in addition to practicing law, Johnson is on the board of directors of MetLife and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, and is a trustee of Columbia University. Johnson has also served on the board of directors of Lockheed Martin, U.S. Steel, PG&E, Adelphi University and the Council on Foreign Relations.  Johnson is a regular commentator on NBC’s Meet The Press, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, FOX’s Fox & Friends, CNN and other news networks.   In 2024 Johnson was asked to assume the role of a U.S. president running for re-election in the PBS special Deadlock.

Johnson is the 2024 recipient of the Gold Medal, the New York State Bar Association’s highest honor, a 2024 recipient of the National Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2021 recipient of the American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and a 2018 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award.  Johnson is a frequent debate participant at the Oxford and Cambridge Unions in England, and is an honorary lifetime member of the Cambridge Union.

Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College and Columbia Law School and the recipient of 13 honorary degrees.