A lawyer active for years in the American Jewish Congress has been named general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Irv Nathan was named to the post by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House speaker.
“Irv Nathan has an outstanding reputation and record of accomplishment in private practice and in government service,” Pelosi said last week in announcing the appointment, which will take effect in November.
Nathan, like Pelosi a Baltimore native, is a past member of the AJCongress’ executive committee and has litigated church-state issues on the group’s behalf.
In the 1990s he chaired an AJCongress task force on terrorism and the law. Nathan currently is a top litigator for the law firm of Arnold & Porter, and also has served in senior Justice Department positions.
As general counsel, Nathan will take the lead role in congressional battles with the Bush administration over access to records and witnesses related to a number of cases.
