Joe D. Whitley

Who is Joe D. Whitley?

Joe D. Whitley, currently in private practice at Greenberg Traurig, was the first General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security.

During the George H.W. Bush administration, Joe served as the Acting United States Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position in the Department of Justice. Under President Ronald Reagan, he was the U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Georgia in Macon, and under President George H.W. Bush, Whitley served as the U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.

Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security, and immediately following his service at DHS, Whitley was a partner at Alston & Bird, where he served as head of its Government Enforcement & Investigations Group, his practice concentrating on government investigations, environmental and health care fraud and complex civil litigation.

Whitley is the Chair of the Administrative Law Section of the American Bar Association. He is a former member of the Criminal Justice Section Council of the American Bar Association. He served as Vice Chair for Governmental Affairs of the 2002-03 ABA Criminal Justice Section. He also chaired annual seminars and institutes for Georgia ICLE on White Collar Crime, Health Care Fraud, and Cybercrime. He co-chairs the ABA's Homeland Security Institute.