BP, which was leasing the Deepwater Horizon oil platform when it exploded and sunk, has retained the international firm WilmerHale. One of the firm’s partners is Jamie Gorelick, who served as a deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton administration and as a member of the 9/11 Commission. BP is hoping Gorelick’s insider experience will help them prepare for the criminal investigation that Attorney General Eric Holder is launching into the accident.

 

Transocean Ltd., owner of the Deepwater Horizon, has recruited Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, while Halliburton Co., which performed work on the oil well at the bottom of the ocean, has hired Patton Boggs. Jeffrey Turner, a partner at Patton Boggs, has experience representing other companies under investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which may conduct its own investigation into the disaster.

 

Since the April 20 accident that has spilled millions of gallons of oil into the gulf, Halliburton has ramped up its campaign contributions to key lawmakers. The company donated $17,000 in May, including donations to seven members of Congress who serve on committees that are likely to examine the oil spill.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

BP, Halliburton, Transocean Build Legal Teams (by Anne Mulkern, Greenwire)

BP and Halliburton Build Legal Teams, Attempt To Buy Off Government Officials (by Alex Seitz-Wald, Think Progress)