[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Even the DOJ can't hold onto its lawyers.

Thomas J. Perrelli was the No. 3 at the Justice Department before he relinquished his role, associate attorney general.  His greener pastures: former employer, Jenner & Block, which he left as a partner for the Obama administration.

At the DOJ, Mr. Perrelli:

• was responsible for a number of the department's divisions, including its antitrust and civil rights units
• handled a number of prominent cases at the Justice Department
• served as a point person for the government's settlement with the country's largest banks related to their mortgage foreclosure practices
• negotiated the agreement with BP related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that led to a $20 billion trust fund and a claims process for victims of the accident

Round Two. At Jenner & Block, Mr. Perrelli, 46, started as an associate in 1992.  Going forward, he will manage a new Jenner & Block practice area called government controversies and public policy litigation, covering white-collar criminal defense and regulatory work.  He joins a number of senior Justice Department lawyers departing for private practice, including:

• Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States attorney in Chicago, who left earlier this year for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• Christine Varney, the White House's top antitrust lawyer, who last year became a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Jenner & Block, which is headquartered in Chicago, made its name as litigation practice and has a respected white-collar criminal defense group.  While attending Harvard Law School, Mr. Perrelli was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review, the same time that President Obama was the publication's president.  As President of the United States, Mr. Obama has hired also hired Jenner & Block alumni Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the United States solicitor general, and Andrew Weissman, the general counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 11/1/12].