Nicole Seligman (born 1957) is an American attorney and corporate director. She received national attention in the United States for her representation of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

during the Iran–Contra hearings, and of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

during his

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

trial. Seligman is a former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of

Sony Corporation , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and former President of

Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation SONAM, headquartered in New York City, manages the company's US-based businesses. Sony's principal U.S. businesse ...

Early life and education

She earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

) in 1978, and, in 1983, a J.D., magna cum laude, from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, where she edited the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

''. In between college and law school (1978–1980), she worked as associate editorial page editor for Hong Kong's ''Asian Wall Street Journal'' (1978–1980). After law school, she clerked for Judge

Harry T. Edwards Harry Thomas Edwards (born November 3, 1940) is an American jurist and legal scholar. He is currently a Senior United States Circuit Judge and chief judge emeritus of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Was ...

at the

U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...

for the District of Columbia (1983-1984) and Justice

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

on the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

(1984–1985).

Career

Seligman began her career in the private sector as a partner at

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams in collaboration with Paul Connolly, a former student of his. Williams left the partnership of D.C. firm Hog ...

in Washington, D.C. Only shortly after joining the firm, she was assigned to assist partner

Brendan Sullivan Brendan V. Sullivan Jr. (born March 11, 1942, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American lawyer who is currently a senior partner in the law firm Williams & Connolly. Sullivan is a white-collar criminal defense attorney best known for his defens ...

in representing Lt. Col. North before Congressional hearing and at his trial. Eleven years later, her more senior partner, David Kendall, President Clinton's outside counsel, asked for her assistance. She appeared with Clinton when he testified before the grand jury in the

Monica Lewinsky scandal Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

, and she spoke on his behalf before the Senate at the

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...

.Marcus, Ruth.
Clinton's Least Known Lawyer.
November 18, 1999. Accessed November 26, 2006. Her other clients at Williams & Connolly included large media organizations such as

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

(in the

Operation Tailwind Operation Tailwind was a covert incursion by a small unit of United States Army and allied Montagnard forces into southeastern Laos during the Vietnam War, conducted from 11 to 14 September 1970. Its purpose was to create a diversion for a Roya ...

matter),

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, and occasionally the

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...

(which was primarily represented by Kendall).Franken, Bob.
Second female attorney argues for Clinton before Senate.
Accessed November 26, 2006. In September 2001, she was recruited by

Howard Stringer Sir Howard Stringer (born 19 February 1942) is a Welsh-American businessman. He had a 30-year career at CBS, culminating in him serving as the president of CBS News from 1986 to 1988, then president of CBS from 1988 to 1995. He served as chairma ...

, CEO of

, to become an

executive vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and general counsel. In June 2003, she became corporate executive officer of the worldwide

. When Stringer became Sony Corporation CEO in June 2005, Seligman rose to become general counsel of that corporation, retaining the same role at SCA.Official Sony biography of Nicole Seligman.
Accessed November 26, 2006. She became president of Sony Corporation of America on June 27, 2012. In August 2013, the Council on CyberSecurity announced that Seligman is a member of the organization's advisory board. On February 18, 2016, it was announced that Seligman is stepping down from the positions of president of Sony Entertainment and Sony Corporation of America; In an internal memo to employees, it was stated that she would leave at the end of March.

Personal life

She is married to Joel I. Klein, former

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

and former U.S. Assistant

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in charge of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.New York Times: "In a Most Private Kennedy, a Lure of Public Duty" By DEBORAH SONTAG
January 18, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seligman, Nicole 1957 births American corporate directors American women lawyers American law firm executives American women business executives Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Harvard Law School alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Living people Radcliffe College alumni Sony people Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American women Members of the defense counsel for the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References