Biographical Context & Career Arc
Current Position
General Counsel, Anthropic (2025-present)
Reports to Chief Legal Officer Brian Israel. Joined during Anthropic's $10 billion funding discussions, part of aggressive legal team expansion recruiting from OpenAI, Meta, BlackRock, and Apple.
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Career Timeline
| 2025-present | General Counsel, Anthropic AI frontier lab; Claude AI safety research |
| 2020-2025 | Chief Legal Officer, Cruise LLC GM-backed autonomous vehicle company; navigated AV regulatory landscape |
| 2019-2020 | Board Chair, PG&E Corporation Led restructuring during bankruptcy proceedings following California wildfire liabilities; oversaw $13.5B victim compensation fund |
| 2016-2020 | Partner, Dentons LLP (San Francisco) Cybersecurity, trade, international disputes |
| 2014-2016 | Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson (returned after diplomatic service) |
| 2009-2013 | U.S. Ambassador to Australia Oversaw "rebalance to Asia-Pacific"; record trade growth; Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty; space cooperation (Mars Curiosity); received Sue M. Cobb Prize |
| 2009 | Special Counsel to President Obama White House staff; confirmation/personnel issues; sensitive matters |
| 1992-2009 | Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson (19 years) Complex litigation, appellate practice, media/communications law, IP |
| 1990-1991 | Law Clerk, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist Supreme Court of the United States |
| 1989-1990 | Law Clerk, Judge Abner Mikva U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit |
| 1991-1992 | Legal Assistant, Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal (The Hague) Special Rapporteur, Permanent Court of Arbitration |
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Education
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law (1989) — Editor-in-Chief, California Law Review; Order of the Coif
- M.P.P., Harvard Kennedy School (1986) — John F. Kennedy Fellow
- B.A., Amherst College (1983) — Political Science, magna cum laude
- Certificate, Hague Academy of International Law (1993) — Public and Private International Law
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Bar Leadership & Professional Service
- President, State Bar of California (2007-2008)
- President, Bar Association of San Francisco (2003)
- Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations
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Notable Recognition
- Sue M. Cobb Prize for Exemplary Diplomatic Service (2013) — State Department's highest award for non-career ambassadors
- Burton "Legends in Law" Award (2024) — Library of Congress
- California Lawyer Attorney of the Year
- Top 100 Lawyers in California — Daily Journal
- ABA Pro Bono Publico Award
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award for Excellence (2017) — Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco
- Peter Haas Public Service Medal — UC Berkeley
- Honorary Doctorates: San Francisco State University (2011-2014), Griffith University (2019)
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Current Institutional Affiliations
- Chair, Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies — Flinders University, Adelaide
- Distinguished Ambassadorial Fellow — United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
- Visiting Scholar (2024 — 25) — Stanford CASBS
- Board Member — Amherst College (elected 2017)
- Trustee — Willie Mays and May Mays Trust; Chair, Say Hey Foundation
[flinders_edu_au_da0495e5fb, ussc_edu_au_00efe243d7, casbs_stanford_edu_7eda63dc04]