John Michael Quinn (born August 16, 1949) is an American lawyer, businessman and CNN television commentator.

Early life

Quinn attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

in 1971. He later attended

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

, where he was an Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, while also serving as a staff member on the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1969-1973) and, later, as a

legislative assistant A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...

to Senator

Floyd K. Haskell Floyd Kirk Haskell (February 7, 1916August 25, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1973 to 1979. Early life and career Floyd Haskell was born in Morri ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

(1973-1975). He graduated with a J.D. in 1975.

Career

At the age of 26, from 1975 to 1976, Quinn directed

Mo Udall Morris King "Mo" Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democra ...

's presidential campaign. Later Quinn became a partner at

Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is an American multinational law firm. A white-shoe firm, Arnold & Porter is among the largest law firms in the world, by both revenue and by its number of lawyers. History Arnold & Porter was founded in 1946 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, working there for almost 20 years. He also taught as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

He served as

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

to the presidential campaigns of Senators

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

and

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...

, and was both counsel and communications director to Senator Al Gore's 1988 presidential campaign. He was again a Gore advisor during Gore's campaign as

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's running mate in the 1992 election, coordinating Gore's preparation for the vice-presidential debates. After Clinton and Gore won the election, Quinn was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Vice President.White House. "Vice President Gore Names Jack Quinn Chief of Staff.

accessed November 26, 2006. Later he was promoted to

Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States The chief of staff to the vice president of the United States is the chief of staff position within the Office of the Vice President, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The chief of staff has been responsible f ...

, retaining the Counsel to the Vice President title. In September 1995, Quinn became White House Counsel to President Clinton and served in that role until early in 1997. When Quinn left the White House in 1997, he returned to Arnold & Porter. In 2000, he co-founded

Quinn Gillespie & Associates Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA) was an American lobbying and communications firm founded in 2000 by Republican political strategist Ed Gillespie and Democratic operative Jack Quinn. It was sold in 2004 to WPP, one of the world's largest commu ...

, a public affairs and public relations firm with

Ed Gillespie Edward Walter Gillespie (born August 1, 1961) is an American politician, strategist, and lobbyist who served as the 61st Chair of the Republican National Committee from 2003 to 2005 and was counselor to the President from 2007 to 2009 during the ...

, a leading

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

operative. The two met as adversaries on

Tony Snow Robert Anthony Snow (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) was an American journalist, political commentator, anchor, columnist, musician, and the 25th White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, from May 2006 until his resignation ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

talk show. Their partnership is considered an early example of the trend towards an interdisciplinary and bipartisan "one-stop shopping" approach to

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

.Russ Baker, "U.S.: Top Ten Corporate Democrats for Hire"
Profile
corpwatch.org; accessed November 26, 2006. Quinn served on the Boards of the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), now known as Nasdaq PHLX, is the first stock exchange established in the United States and the oldest stock exchange in the nation. The exchange is owned by Nasdaq, which acquired it in 2007 for $652 million, a ...

(1997–98),

Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the N ...

(1997-2000) and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. He presently serves on the Boards of Alternative Packaging Systems (APS), a developer of innovative non-aerosol packaging technologies and The Water Company, a developer of water purification technologies for industrial uses. Until late 2016, he was a director of Constellis, a holding company that includes several

private security companies A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta ...

(including

Academi Blackwater was an American private military company founded on December 26, 1996 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and known as Academi since 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors. ...

Triple Canopy Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by Army Special Force ...

, and The Olive Group) that provide security services and training to both governmental and private sector clients. Quinn co-chaired the Governance and Compliance Committee of Academi with former Attorney General and Senator

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

. Quinn is presently a Legal Analyst at CNN. He also practices law at

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is a Los Angeles-based law firm of more than 450 attorneys and other professionals founded in 1965. The firm earned revenues of $316.9 million in 2017. Donna L. Wilson is the firm's Chief Executive and Managing Par ...

and in the Law Office of John M. Quinn. In the latter practice, he represents thousands of family members of victims of the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

terrorist attacks. Quinn was among the lawyers involved in promoting the

Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) () is a law enacted by the United States Congress that narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity. It amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Anti-Ter ...

, which became law when Congress overrode the veto issued by President Barack Obama. That veto was the only one overridden during Obama's presidency.

Personal life

Quinn is married to Susanna Monroney Quinn and lives in

with their son, Storm Quinn, and Susanna's daughter from a previous marriage, Jocelyn Quinn. He has six older children: Kathleen Quinn, Jonathan Quinn, Megan Quinn, Caitlin Quinn Slaviero and Brendan Quinn. He also has eleven grand-children.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Jack 1949 births Blackwater (company) American lobbyists American political consultants Chiefs of Staff to the Vice President of the United States Clinton administration personnel Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people New York (state) Democrats Place of birth missing (living people) United States presidential advisors Washington, D.C., Democrats Lawyers from Washington, D.C. White House Counsels Arnold & Porter people