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From The Washington Post:
Harriet MiersWhite House counselDate of birth: August 10, 1945 Miers was Bush's personal and campaign attorney back in Texas, where he also appointed her to head the Texas Lottery Commission. At the White House, she has been promoted twice, from staff secretary to deputy chief of staff for policy, and then to legal counsel. Bush once called her a "pit bull in size-6 shoes."
The White House Web site gives this background on the nominee:
Most recently, Harriet Miers served as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary. Prior to that, she was co-managing partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP. Previously, she was president of Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell, where she worked from 1972 until 1999. From 1995 until 2000, she was chair of the Texas Lottery Commission. In 1992, Harriet became the first woman president of the Texas State Bar, and in 1985 she became the first woman president of the Dallas Bar Association. She also served as a member-at-large on the Dallas City Council. Harriet received both her undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University.
I have found an online chat in which Miers answers questions from the public on a wide range of issues from the war in Iraq to her support for the president's notion of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). While Miers has a long association with President Bush, she has never been a judge, so she leaves no "paper trail" of legal decisons.
The Dallas Morning News described her this way:
The Dallas lawyer is in her third White House job in four years. One of the president's closest confidantes, Harriet Miers was his personal and campaign attorney in Texas. At the White House, she moved up quickly, from the gatekeeper post of staff secretary, to deputy chief of staff for policy, to legal counsel. In her new paneled corner office on the second floor of the West Wing, she manages a team of lawyers that handles the most sensitive legal issues facing the president, from the war against terrorism to appointments to the federal bench. Her roots run deep in Dallas, where she still owns a house. She was born in the city, graduated twice from Southern Methodist University and served on the Dallas City Council. "There is an ease of living in Texas that does not exist here," she says, leaving little doubt where she's headed down the road.
The Dallas lawyer is in her third White House job in four years.
One of the president's closest confidantes, Harriet Miers was his personal and campaign attorney in Texas. At the White House, she moved up quickly, from the gatekeeper post of staff secretary, to deputy chief of staff for policy, to legal counsel.
In her new paneled corner office on the second floor of the West Wing, she manages a team of lawyers that handles the most sensitive legal issues facing the president, from the war against terrorism to appointments to the federal bench.
Her roots run deep in Dallas, where she still owns a house. She was born in the city, graduated twice from Southern Methodist University and served on the Dallas City Council. "There is an ease of living in Texas that does not exist here," she says, leaving little doubt where she's headed down the road.
The DMN also profiled her when she was named White House Counsel.
Last summer, The New York Times called her "a woman of low profile in a job high-powered."
Also last summer, The Washington Post profiled her in a deep piece:
"The thing that comes to mind when I think of Harriet is that she basically puts her clients' interests ahead of everything, including her own personal life, sleeping hours and all those things," said Jerry Clements, a partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, the 400-lawyer Texas firm where Miers was a co-managing partner before coming to Washington. "She is defined by hard work, dedication and client loyalty." Miers's low-key but high-precision style is particularly valued in a White House where discipline in publicly articulating policy and loyalty to the president are highly valued. Formerly Bush's personal lawyer in Texas, Miers came with him to the White House in 2001 as staff secretary, the person who screens all the documents that cross the president's desk. She was promoted to deputy chief of staff before Bush named her counsel after his reelection in November. She replaced Alberto R. Gonzales, another longtime Bush confidant, who was elevated to attorney general. "Harriet Miers is a trusted adviser on whom I have long relied for straightforward advice," Bush said at the time. "Harriet has the keen judgment and discerning intellect necessary to be an outstanding counsel." When he was governor of Texas, Bush offered a less formal assessment at an awards ceremony, calling Miers "a pit bull in size-6 shoes." The line stuck, in no small part because it described her cool but dogged determination. As White House counsel, Miers describes herself as lawyer to the presidency and the president. It is a job that has an impact on almost every major decision made in the White House, although most of the work is performed in the shadows -- at least until controversy erupts. Gonzales faced sharp questioning at his confirmation hearing for attorney general about his role in shaping policies that some critics said led to the torture and abuse of detainees at U.S. military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"The thing that comes to mind when I think of Harriet is that she basically puts her clients' interests ahead of everything, including her own personal life, sleeping hours and all those things," said Jerry Clements, a partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, the 400-lawyer Texas firm where Miers was a co-managing partner before coming to Washington. "She is defined by hard work, dedication and client loyalty."
Miers's low-key but high-precision style is particularly valued in a White House where discipline in publicly articulating policy and loyalty to the president are highly valued. Formerly Bush's personal lawyer in Texas, Miers came with him to the White House in 2001 as staff secretary, the person who screens all the documents that cross the president's desk. She was promoted to deputy chief of staff before Bush named her counsel after his reelection in November. She replaced Alberto R. Gonzales, another longtime Bush confidant, who was elevated to attorney general.
"Harriet Miers is a trusted adviser on whom I have long relied for straightforward advice," Bush said at the time. "Harriet has the keen judgment and discerning intellect necessary to be an outstanding counsel."
When he was governor of Texas, Bush offered a less formal assessment at an awards ceremony, calling Miers "a pit bull in size-6 shoes." The line stuck, in no small part because it described her cool but dogged determination.
As White House counsel, Miers describes herself as lawyer to the presidency and the president. It is a job that has an impact on almost every major decision made in the White House, although most of the work is performed in the shadows -- at least until controversy erupts. Gonzales faced sharp questioning at his confirmation hearing for attorney general about his role in shaping policies that some critics said led to the torture and abuse of detainees at U.S. military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Post story adds:
Miers, who is not married and does not have children, was active in professional organizations and eventually was elected head of the Dallas and Texas bar associations, where she was known for encouraging members to do pro bono work. If Miers encountered any gender bias along the way, she is not one to talk about it. "She is one of those people who just decides, 'I'm going to do a good job and good work and good results will win out over any biases people may have,' " said Clements, a fellow female lawyer who regards Miers as a trailblazer. "She just overcame any obstacles with hard work and dedication and being a very good trial lawyer." We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links. Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible.
Miers, who is not married and does not have children, was active in professional organizations and eventually was elected head of the Dallas and Texas bar associations, where she was known for encouraging members to do pro bono work.
If Miers encountered any gender bias along the way, she is not one to talk about it. "She is one of those people who just decides, 'I'm going to do a good job and good work and good results will win out over any biases people may have,' " said Clements, a fellow female lawyer who regards Miers as a trailblazer. "She just overcame any obstacles with hard work and dedication and being a very good trial lawyer."
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible.
