Harry Litman

Harry P. Litman (born c. 1958) is an American lawyer, law professor and political commentator. He is a former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. He has provided commentary in print and broadcast news and produces the Talking Feds podcast. He has taught in multiple law schools and schools of public policy.

Litman served as a law clerk to Abner Mikva, Thurgood Marshall, and Anthony Kennedy. His practice specialties have included False Claims law and Whistleblower law.

Early life and education
Litman grew up in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was named a presidential scholar upon graduation from high school in 1976. Both his parents, Roslyn Litman and S. David Litman, were lawyers as well as civil liberties advocates. He attended the Tree of Life Synagogue as a youth. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1980. After graduating, he worked as a sports reporter for the Associated Press and as a production assistant for feature films.

He received his Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986, where he was editor-in-chief of the California Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif.

Career
Litman served as a law clerk to Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and Anthony Kennedy during the 1987 and 1988 terms.

Following his clerkships, Litman became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. While an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he was detailed to the Department of Justice's main office in Washington, D.C., to work on several national cases, including the federal re-prosecution of the Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King case.

From 1993 to 1998 he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Janet Reno in the Department of Justice, coordinating the department's work on a number of issues and advising the Attorney General and other officials on questions of constitutional law and prosecutorial policy. Simultaneously, he was a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. In that capacity, he was co-counsel for Operation Underhand, prosecuting a narcotics ring that smuggled drugs into prison under the guise of providing religious counseling.

In 1998, he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President Bill Clinton.

Litman in 2000 personally litigated a gun trafficking case under Operation Target. In July 2000, Clinton nominated Litman for a judgeship on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, but the Senate adjourned without considering the nomination. While in government, Litman also taught at Berkeley Law School, Georgetown Law School and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Litman developed a nationally recognized gun-violence reduction initiative known as Operation Target, and personally litigated cases in the district court and the court of appeals.

A Democrat, Litman served as Pennsylvania state counsel to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and post-election counsel for Western Pennsylvania to the Obama-Biden presidential campaign in 2008.

After leaving government, Litman was appointed a Distinguished Visitor and Fellow to the Program in Law and Public Policy at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.

As of 2020 Litman was associated with the law firm Constantine Cannon in San Francisco, where he focuses on False Claims Act cases.

He is listed in "Best Lawyers of America" in the categories "Commercial Litigation", "White Collar Criminal Defense", and "Qui Tam Law".

Litman is the host and executive producer of the Talking Feds podcast. The podcast is known for its roundtable discussions featuring prominent guests across government, law, and journalism and for its sidebars in which prominent figures in other fields explain legal or federal topics in the news.

In March 2024, he launched "Talking San Diego," a series of conversations with some of the nation’s most interesting and prominent figures. The inaugural conversation, with Congressman Jamie Raskin, took place March 18, 2024.

Legal commentary
He has contributed opinion commentary to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Lawfare.

Litman is a regular commentator on legal issues on National Public Radio (NPR) and for cable television networks including MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. Litman also provides legal and political analysis on BBC News and France 24.

Notable cases in private practice
Litman was lead counsel for the relator in Washington v. EDMC, a False Claims Act case against a for-profit education chain. The case resulted in the largest settlement ever in an FCA case involving the U.S. Department of Education.[9]

He was counsel for Richard Cordray, then director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in contemplated litigation against President Trump to prevent Cordray's termination.

Litman represented Pittsburgh Mayor Thomas J. Murphy Jr. in a successful effort to prevent indictment on federal charges.[10] He also served as co-counsel by appointment of the Department of Justice in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Teaching
As of 2018 Litman taught Constitutional Law and National Security Law at UCLA School of Law and University of California, San Diego School of Political Science. He previously taught at Berkeley Law School, Georgetown Law School, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Princeton's School of Public Policy, and Rutgers University–Camden Law School and at Duquesne.

Talking Feds podcast
In March 2019, Litman launched the podcast Talking Feds, a round-table of former federal officials discussing the legal issues of the day. Litman serves as host and executive producer. In March 2020 Marie Claire named it the second-best political podcast in the US to prepare listeners for the upcoming presidential election.

Personal life
Litman is married to Julie Roskies Litman, a mathematician, three time jiu jitsu world champion, and former professional bass player. Roskies Litman graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a double major in philosophy and mathematics. They have 3 school age children; David, Lila, and Toby. Litman's parents, Roslyn Litman and David Litman, represented future NBA star Connie Hawkins in his successful suit to be admitted into the league. Litman's sister, Jessica Litman, is a lawyer and copyright scholar at the University of Michigan. His mother was attorney Roslyn Litman. He is a member of the Democratic Party.