Fine Chosen as National Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year

Fine was nominated by President Clinton in 2000 and was confirmed by the Senate on December 15 of the same year. He was first hired as a special counsel in 1995 and became the director of the OIG's Special Investigations and Review Unit in 1996. His history includes time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He even played basketball and was a tenth-round draft pick of the NBA in 1979 for the San Antonio Spurs. He turned this opportunity down, however, to accept a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, where he received both his bachelor's and master's degrees before attending Harvard Law School.

During the past year Fine and the team he has pulled together in his time as inspector general were able to rise above the suffering reputation of the Justice Department and surface as independent and nonpartisan entities who were able to conduct thorough, unbiased investigations and present the facts. This ability to remain unbiased has gained Fine profound credibility. Though many have been unhappy with what Fine has found in his investigations, they have been largely unable to criticize Fine. Fine's predecessor, Michael Bromwich, also the man who hired him originally, says of this lack of skepticism and criticism, ''The reason for his [Fine's] credibility on the Hill is that his reports are all about the facts. Even in such investigations like the political hirings and firings, the conclusions are uncontroversial when they are presented because they follow from the facts.''


This credibility is even more impressive and important, given what Fine has had to deal with this year. Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union office in Washington, listed just a few of the issues Fine has been up against, ''Critical problems inside the Department of Justice, from post-9/11 detentions to torture in Guantanamo interrogations to abuse of national security letters.''

Among Fine's special reports for 2008 are:
 

• Investigations into the removal of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006; into allegations of the mishandling of classified documents by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; of allegations of politicized hiring in the Office of the Attorney General; and of allegations of politicized hiring in the Department of Justice Honors Program and the Summer Law Intern Program.
• Reviews of the FBI's involvement in, and observations of, detainee interrogations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Afghanistan; and Iraq; of the FBI's use of national security letters; and of the FBI's use of Section 215 orders for business records.

Despite the importance and high profiles of these investigations and reviews, Fine has remained very humble and modest. Bromwich points out that Fine is not a grandstander. ''He doesn't go out in front of the Justice Department and hold a press conference. He lets the reports speak for themselves. People realize this is about doing the public's business.''

His modesty shows when he described 2008 as ''a time when a lot of important investigations reached fruition. It was a busy period, but we worked hard to complete these reports and to do them thoroughly.'' The office's regular work had to be completed even as special investigations and reviews were in motion.

Bromwich went so far as to say that Fine and his office had to deal with ''a broad range of issues, the likes of which virtually no inspector general has had to deal with before.'' He also pointed out the most of the issues were unavoidable, casting away any possible suspicion of Fine trying to put himself in the spotlight.

Despite, and surely at least partially because of, all the challenges that come with the position, Fine enjoys his work. ''This is a great job, and I don't think about the future. I think about the next day and next week.'' Fine appreciates that this position offers its holder to have a significant impact on government. He is doing his best in a difficult situation and is making a difference. Congratulations to you, Glenn A. Fine. You have earned your title.