Sally Yates Joins King & Spalding

King & Spalding announced the return of former acting attorney general and deputy attorney general Sally Yates, who will join the firm in Washington DC as part of its special matters & government investigations team. She was formerly an associate in the firm's Atlanta office.

Yates, formerly the second-highest ranking official in the US Department of Justice, was dismissed from her governmental role in January 2017 after ordering DOJ lawyers to not defend President Trump's controversial executive order restricting travel into the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Her former roles also include five years serving as the US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Practice chair Wick Sollers welcomed the news, remarking: “We are very fortunate to have Sally join our team. As a legal strategist, independent investigator and trial lawyer, she is as talented and hardworking as any lawyer I know. We are confident that general counsel, CEOs and boards of directors will welcome her insight, especially if they need an independent counsel who can navigate a matter with civil, criminal or reputational ramifications."