RollinsScandalSteersUSAtty'sOfficeTo'UnchartedWaters'
By Chris Villani
Law360 (May 17, 2023, 5:06 PM EDT) -- The abrupt resignation of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins in the face of multiple ethics inquiries has left the high-profile Boston office looking to turn the page, and experts say strong leadership and staying out of the headlines will be vital moving forward.
Separate reports by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General and U.S. Office of Special Counsel hammered Rollins for violating the Hatch Act barring partisan political activity, leaking DOJ information, trying to influence a district attorney race and lying to investigators.
With Rollins' departure, former Ropes & Gray LLP partner and top deputy Josh Levy is expected to take the helm as acting U.S. attorney. Former prosecutors say he will have to steady the ship after a rocky Rollins tenure.
"I think there has to be a recognition that they are really in uncharted waters," said Cooley LLP partner Zachary Hafer, a former chief of the Boston attorney office's criminal division.
"The line prosecutors who work hard day in and day out are going to need support; they are going to need credible, competent leadership as soon as the department can provide it," Hafer said. "To the extent that there is a positive here, there is now clarity, and something that has clearly been a distraction is no longer a distraction."
The Boston office has been behind landmark prosecutions, including the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case, the prosecution of former Insys Therapeutics Inc. executives and other headline-grabbing matters. But Rollins' tenure has seen, in addition to the looming investigation, dwindling case numbers and talk of low morale.
In announcing her resignation, Rollins' attorney acknowledged that the probe that began with her attendance at a political fundraiser, that was also attended by first lady Jill Biden, had snowballed into an unacceptable distraction.
Nixon Peabody LLP's Robert Fisher said he thinks the attorney's office can recover quickly, but added, "It'll require some work."
Step one, he said, is to stay out of the news for the wrong reasons.
"I think, obviously, you want to avoid any negative headlines, and this has been a cloud over their heads for months now," Fisher said.
Saul Ewing LLP partner Evan Gotlob, a former prosecutor who left the Boston office in March, said the investigation did not have an effect on the work he and his colleagues were doing.
"We, as line prosecutors, didn't hear anything about it at all," Gotlob said. "All we knew was what we read in the press."
Gotlob said the transition to Levy should be fairly smooth, pointing to his heavy involvement in most matters since Rollins came into office.
"He is a really good leader," Gotlob said. "I interacted with him on multiple cases daily or weekly, and he was very involved in what was going on both with long- and short-term investigations."
Bringing stability to the office is only part of the task for Levy and other leaders in the office, according to K&L Gates LLP partner Christopher Nasson.
"Josh, or whoever the confirmed U.S. attorney ends up being, is going to have to work hard to rebuild public trust and build relationships with local, state and federal law enforcement," Nasson said. "They are going to have to work hard to restore the office's reputation and rebuild morale."
Nasson said that prosecutors, who are not as well-paid as their colleagues on the defense side, typically go into that line of work because they believe in the cause.
"When you have a leader of the office tarnish its reputation, you're not going to be as proud to work there," he said. "And you're not staying because of the paycheck."
While Rollins came to the office as a political appointee with a political background, having been the elected district attorney for Massachusetts' Suffolk County, Levy's experience
is entirely in the legal world as both a federal prosecutor and a BigLaw white collar attorney.
After Rollins' bumpy confirmation, which included Vice President Kamala Harris twice having to break a deadlocked U.S. Senate, experts agreed there is likely not much of an appetite in Washington to tackle the Massachusetts U.S. attorney position for a second time. But the Vacancies Reform Act limits the number of days Levy can hold the top job on an interim basis to 210 days, after which the district court can appoint someone to fill the role.
Eric Rosen, a former lead prosecutor on the "Varsity Blues" case who is now a partner at Freedman Normand Friedland LLP, said he did not expect the business of the office to change. If Levy does stay on for an extended period of time, it will bring needed stability, Rosen said, but it might be hard for Levy to make his mark.
"In the short term, I don't think anything will be affected," Rosen said. "But it'll be difficult in the longer run for an acting U.S. attorney to really change priorities or establish his or her footprint."
Saul Ewing's Gotlob said shifts in priorities or leadership under Levy will be more noticeable for those inside the building than those on the outside.
"They might be more aggressive in white collar investigations because Josh has a lot of experience in that," Gotlob said. "He is an expert in white collar investigations for sure."
Fisher also said, "Based on Levy's background, I think it's fair to say that there may be an increased attention on white collar prosecutions, financial crimes and sophisticated white collar matters."
Massachusetts has not seen a U.S. attorney forced to step down since 1989. While acknowledging that moving on from Rollins' scandals will not be easy, observers expressed optimism that Levy could provide stable leadership.
"Josh has a great reputation, and I think folks are confident he will be up to the challenge," K&L Gates' Nasson said. "But it is a challenge."
--Editing by Kelly Duncan and Lakshna Mehta.
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