Nov. 10 (UPI) — Douglas Emhoff will leave his law firm as he becomes the first second gentleman when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, a campaign spokesperson confirmed.
Emhoff, a 56-year-old entertainment and intellectual property lawyer for the global law firm DLA Piper and spouse of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will officially leave his law firm by Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, a campaign spokesperson confirmed.
Emhoff joined DLA Piper a few years ago as a partner in its Intellectual Property and Technology practice and its Media, Sports and Entertainment sector based in its Los Angeles and Washington, DC, offices. He previously worked at the law firm Venable, where he worked on the firm’s expansion to the West Coast.
He has been on a leave of absence since August, when Biden named his wife as his running mate.
“Mr. Emhoff is working with the Biden-Harris transition team to develop the portfolio he will focus on to support the work of the administration,” the spokesperson said.
Emhoff graduated from California State University-Northridge with a bachelor’s degree in communication and media studies, and from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Then, he started his legal career in the Los Angeles area in the 1990s, becoming a partner by the late 1990s.
“For over 25 years, Doug has proven himself in courtrooms and boardrooms across California and around the country,” his DLA Piper bio states. “He represents large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate and intellectual property disputes.”
Experts told Bloomberg Law that Emhoff’s job could be structured to limit ethic’s concerns, but the firm’s wide-ranging roster of legal and lobbying clients was near certain to pose questions about the appearance of conflicts.
Emhoff will be the first second gentleman of the United States when his wife is sworn in as the first female, Black and South Asian American vice president.
Born on Oct. 13, 1964, to Jewish parents, Michael and Barbara Emhoff in New York City borough of Brooklyn, Emhoff will also be the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.
Emhoff has two children from his previous marriage to Kerstin Emhoff, Cole and Ella, who call Harris “Momala.”
Harris and Emhoff have been married for six years. Shortly after the announcement that Pennsylvania was called for Biden and Harris he tweeted “so proud of you.”
He is active on social media with supporters calling themselves the #DougHive, modeled after Harris’ supporters called the #KHive.
Emhoff met Harris on a blind date in 2013 and proposed to her after a quick courtship. They were married at a courthouse in Santa Barbara in 2014 in a ceremony officiated by Harris’ sister Maya.
