In a meteoric career trajectory that even Washington insiders find remarkable, Kathryn Ruemmler (L’96) became White House counsel this summer. At age 40 Ruemmler is one of the youngest people to serve in this post and is already being compared to such legendary predecessors as Lloyd Cutler and C. Boyden Gray. Ruemmler replaces Robert Bauer, her former boss, who stepped down in June.

“Kathy is an outstanding lawyer with impeccable judgment,” President Obama said in a statement announcing her appointment.

Ruemmler, who was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal, clerked for former federal appeals court Judge Timothy Lewis after graduation, then worked as an associate at both Zuckerman Spaeder and Latham & Watkins. After serving as associate counsel to President Bill Clinton, she became an assistant U.S. attorney, which led to her position as one of three prosecuting attorneys on the Enron Task Force.

“Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling are so arrogant they did not think the rules applied to them,” Ruemmler said in her closing argument against former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Both men were convicted.

Two years after being named a litigation partner at Latham & Watkins in 2007, Ruemmler joined the Obama administration as principal associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice. She became deputy White House counsel in 2010. Among many honors, Ruemmler has been named one of the top 40 lawyers under 40 by Washingtonian Magazine.

Ruemmler, who once appeared in court wearing a conservative gray suit and four-inch pink stiletto heels, is taking one of the more all-consuming positions in the administration — advising the president on all legal issues concerning the White House. “This is a relentless job,” Ruemmler’s friend and associate Jamie Gorelick told the Washington Post, “and having someone with energy and enthusiasm is going to be very helpful.”

July 12, 2011