What did the appointment of former British prime minister Tony Blair as a senior adviser to JPMorgan have in common with former U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan’s landing at hedge fund Paulson & Co. as an adviser? Answer: Robert Barnett, a Washington attorney and partner at Williams & Connolly. Barnett chiefly works for corporations in litigation and other matters, but he has assembled a formidable list of elite clients in the world of politics and media, helping to negotiate book deals, speaking engagements and private sector sinecures for former government officials. Apart from Blair and Greenspan, clients have included both Clintons, Al Gore, Barack Obama, First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna. “Politically, I’m a Democrat. Professionally, I’m bipartisan,” Barnett says.
