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Neil Eggleston

  • Faculty honored for recent work, career achievements

    December 6, 2023

    Several Harvard Law faculty members have received accolades for their work and lifelong scholarship and achievements in recent months.

  • Neil Eggleston.

    Neil Eggleston honored with lifetime achievement award from The American Lawyer

    December 4, 2023

    Lecturer on Law Neil Eggleston has received a 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Lawyer.

  • A Steward Through Our Most Challenging Times

    November 27, 2023

    W. Neil Eggleston, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, always hoped for a legal career that included a significant stint in public service. And if…

  • Nine individuals pose for a photo on the sidewalk of a street

    ‘In the eye of the storm – in a good way’

    April 10, 2023

    Harvard Law’s Semester in Washington Program celebrates 15 years of helping students become government lawyers

  • Will Trump be charged after House panel’s Jan. 6 report?

    December 22, 2022

    After 18 months the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack is set to release a final report of its work and will refer former…

  • Close up of The Buck Stops Here! sign on the desk of President Harry Truman.

    What are the limits of presidential power?

    September 27, 2022

    A panel of experts say that a seminal Supreme Court decision on the powers of the president may raise more questions than it answers.

  • Mar-a-Lago

    Florida blues

    September 6, 2022

    In the wake of the FBI’s raid on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, former White House counsel and Harvard Law lecturer Neil Eggleston reveals how departing presidents have typically preserved official records.

  • US president's oval office

    Weighing President Biden’s first year: Executive power

    January 18, 2022

    Former White House Counsel Neil Eggleston says President Biden has “restored dignity and public purpose to the White House” but that his agenda faces strong opposition from some state attorneys general.

  • Joe Biden May Let Congress Have More of Trump’s Jan. 6 Records. Here’s Why That Matters

    October 19, 2021

    For over a century, U.S. Presidents have fought zealously to defend the executive branch’s right to withhold certain information from Congress and the public. President Joe Biden, facing extreme political pressure in the fraught probe of Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, may soon defy that norm. ... Neil Eggleston, a Harvard Law lecturer who served as White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, says that “the facts are just so extreme that no dangerous precedent would be set” if Biden waives executive privilege over Trump’s documents. Based on his knowledge of the White House review process, Eggleston thinks it is unlikely that Biden will withhold any information that could help uncover how the mob was able to infiltrate the Capitol and disrupt the certification of Biden’s presidential victory, given the “compelling need” for answers.

  • President of the United States Podium outside next to a paneled glass door.

    Can Donald Trump still assert executive privilege?

    September 28, 2021

    Former White House Counsel and Harvard Law Lecturer Neil Eggleston explains the legal doctrine, its origins, and how it applies to ex-presidents.

  • Illustration of cords being plugged into the White House.

    Presidential Power Surges

    July 17, 2019

    Particular moments in history and strategic breaks with unwritten rules have helped many U.S. presidents expand their powers incrementally, leading some to wonder how wide-ranging presidential powers can be.

  • Presidential Power Surges

    July 9, 2019

    Particular moments in history and strategic breaks with unwritten rules have helped many presidents expand their powers incrementally, leading some to wonder how wide-ranging presidential powers can be. [With comments from Noah Feldman, Mark TushnetMichael KlarmanJack GoldsmithDaphna Renan, and Neil Eggleston].

  • Obama White House Counsel Neil Eggleston Returns to Kirkland

    April 25, 2017

    On Inauguration Day, outgoing White House counsel Neil Eggleston visited his office in the West Wing one last time. He then went to Andrews Air Force base to say goodbye to his boss, Barack Obama, before taking a call from a former Kirkland & Ellis colleague to schedule a dinner the following week. Three months later, Eggleston has returned to private practice and to his old firm, Kirkland announced internally Monday...This time, Eggleston, who is 63, plans to build a practice similar to what he had before, plus teach at Harvard Law School and keep a calendar of public appearances and speeches. "Hopefully, I'll ramp up quickly. I've had former clients reach out and ask me when I'll be returning" to the firm, he said.