Doug Emhoff to Return to Corporate Law

The latest guessing game in Washington is where former Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, might go next. Half of that question has been answered.

Starting Monday, Mr. Emhoff will become a partner at the corporate law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, splitting his time between Los Angeles and New York. He will advise companies on crises including litigation and corporate investigations.

Mr. Emhoff spent decades as a corporate lawyer before moving to Washington. He was a co-founder of a boutique law firm in 2000, which he sold to a rival, Venable, in 2006. He left Venable in 2017 for DLA Piper and stepped away full time in 2020, partly to avoid questions of conflicts of interest once his wife became vice president.

His clients have included Spotify and Lionsgate. He has also represented Willie Gault, the former Olympic sprinter and N.F.L. star, in a fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Mauricio Umansky, the husband of Kyle Richards, a star of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” in a real estate dispute.

Willkie, which employs more than 1,200 lawyers globally, will tap Mr. Emhoff’s experience from his legal career and as second gentleman in the White House. Through that work, he has amassed a network of key figures in entertainment, private equity and the corporate world.

Mr. Emhoff was a visible presence during the presidential campaign, helping his wife raise more than $1 billion. He also represented the United States in a diplomatic capacity at events like the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and led the Biden administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism.

“That got him in touch with very important leaders across the globe,” said Thomas M. Cerabino, a co-chairman at Willkie. “We think that Doug, as a trusted adviser as well as a lawyer, is going to create opportunities that will be an incredible boost across all fronts.”