Many people today are cynical about government, cynical about public service. My attitude is different. Thirty-seven years as a lawyer in the federal civil service have left me with an enduring respect for the people who handle the most difficult jobs, often for much less than they could earn in the private sector.
During the last 26 years of my civil service legal career work I worked with teams of auditors and criminal investigators in three federal agencies to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in government. This was the best job I ever had. I was pleased when my peers in the Council of Counsels to the Inspectors General (the IG lawyer working group) gave me their career achievement award.
I came to identify with the Inspector General mission of making government more effective. I am available to speak at no charge or serve as a resource for the news media on the following topics:
- IG relationships with Congress and the Executive Branch. This presentation includes close analysis of constitutional issues involving the effect of Executive Privilege on IG work. This presentation is primarily for IGs, their lawyers and senior staff.
- IG Access to Information. This presentation includes some discussion of the Executive Privilege constitutional issues mentioned above but is broader in scope, covering situations that don’t involve constitutional issues but may be difficult as a practical matter. This presentation is primarily for IGs, their lawyers and senior staff, including auditors and criminal investigators. This presentation should have some value for most IGs, but it may be particularly useful for smaller Offices of Inspector General without large legal staffs who may benefit from the views of someone with significant practical experience.
- Liaison between criminal investigators and federal prosecutors. This presentation is primarily for criminal investigators and IG lawyers. Many IGs, their senior staffs and some Assistant United States Attorneys might also find it useful. I have also given this presentation for the Association of Inspectors General, which involved mainly state and local IGs. An article I co-authored on this topic is archived at the IGNet.gov website, or through a direct link from this website. I’m finishing a followup article for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners now. This is one of my favorite topics because in my experience this is a key area where relatively small changes in approach can provide large benefits to OIGs and Assistant United States Attorneys.
Contact me via LinkedIn for more information.