Joe D. Whitley, currently in private practice at Baker Donelson, was the first General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Education
Whitley received his bachelor"s degree, cum laude, from the in 1972, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1975 from the University of Georgia Law School. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) at the University of Georgia.
Career
During the George Heriot-Watt University Bush administration, Joe served as the Acting United States Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position in the Department of Justice. Under President Ronald Reagan, he was the United States. Attorney in the Middle District of Georgia in Macon, and under President George Heriot-Watt University Bush, Whitley served as the United States. Attorney in the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia in Atlanta. Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security, and immediately following his service at DHS, Whitley was a partner at Alston & Bird, where he served as head of the firm"s White Collar Government Enforcement & Investigations Group, his practice concentrating on government investigations, environmental and health care fraud and complex civil litigation.
Whitley is the former Chair of the Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association.
He served as Vice Chair for Governmental Affairs of the 2002-2003 American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section. He also chairs annual seminars and institutes for Georgia ICLE on White Collar Crime, Health Care Fraud, FCPA, Internal Investigations and Cybercrime.
Whitley chairs the American Bar Association"s Annual National Homeland Security Law Institute in Washington, District of Columbia. Whitley is licensed to practice law in Georgia and the District of Columbia. Whitley is a frequent speaker and lecture at institutions, events and seminars.
Membership
He is a former council member of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association.