Katherine Mooney Carroll, until recently the Counselor to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, will return to Cleary Gottlieb as a partner on May 8.
She will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and will focus on global banking and regulatory matters.
“We are delighted to welcome Katherine back to the firm,” said Cleary Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. “Before leaving for the Department of Defense, Katherine was a leader of our financial institutions practice and a trusted advisor to many of our financial institution clients. Her commitment to public service and her government experience are deeply appreciated by the firm and will be invaluable to our practice. Cleary advises a wide range of U.S. and international financial institutions on complex regulatory matters, and Katherine’s return will add to our already formidable depth and breadth in this critical area of the firm’s international practice.”
Katherine joined the Department of Defense in April 2016 and served as a senior advisor to Secretary Carter on a broad range of issues, including cybersecurity and related intelligence matters, the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, and the development and implementation of Secretary Carter’s transformative “Force of the Future” initiatives. She was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.
“I was honored to have the opportunity to serve in the Department of Defense alongside talented and dedicated public servants, both military and civilian,” said Katherine. “I’m now looking forward to rejoining my colleagues at Cleary and, in particular, returning to work with the exceptionally talented team in the global financial institutions practice. The firm provides an outstanding platform to advise global banking clients as they navigate challenging domestic and cross-border regulatory matters.”
Before serving with the Department of Defense, Katherine was a partner in the Washington office where she advised financial institutions on regulatory matters, including the implementation of reforms pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and compliance with U.S. sanctions and anti-money laundering laws. She joined Cleary as an associate in 2001 and became a partner in 2012. Before moving to the Washington office in 2003, she was resident in the firm’s Hong Kong and New York offices. Prior to studying law, Katherine was executive director of the Open Society Institute in Uzbekistan and served as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy.