In 1997 and 1998, Perry was counsel to the
United States Senate hearings on
campaign finance abuses in the 1996 presidential campaigns. Perry joined the
Department of Justice and served in a number of roles before being named acting associate attorney general (the department's third-ranking official), overseeing DOJ's five civil litigating units: Civil, Tax, Environment and Natural Resources, Antitrust, and Civil Rights. In 2002, Perry became general counsel for the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the then-OMB director
Mitch Daniels, where he supervised the White House's clearance of federal regulations, mediated interagency disputes, addressed matters on the DOJ's civil litigation docket, formulated presidential executive orders, developed White House policy initiatives, and advised the president. Among his tasks as general counsel was drafting the legislation that created the new Department of Homeland Security.
Kenneth Feinberg, special master of the
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, called Perry "a first-rate lawyer," "quiet but determined, " After several years of federal service, Perry returned to
Latham & Watkins as a partner, where he rejoined their litigation and regulatory groups, serving as counsel on behalf of
Fortune 500 clients such as Monsanto,
defense contractor Lockheed Martin and others. The
Washington Post reported that at Latham & Watkins, Perry was "a leader of its
homeland security practice." Perry's law practice has largely involved federal court litigation. He has served as lead trial counsel in important nationally prominent matters. Although he has handled numerous commercial matters, his most high-profile successes have involved federal constitutional issues, government regulation and federal contracts. Over the past 15 years since returning to private practice at Latham, Perry has won dozens of cases, including on many consequential Constitutional and federal and state regulatory issues. In April 2005, President George Bush nominated Perry to be the general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. Perry was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate later that year. In his position as the general counsel for the DHS, Perry supervised over 1,500 lawyers, and advised Secretary
Michael Chertoff and the
White House on the department's legal and policy issues. Issues of influence for Perry included, but were not limited to, "the transit of people and cargo, comprehensive immigration reform, and critical infrastructure such as chemical plants." A Cornell Law alumni newsletter reports, "While at DHS, he was joined by Gus P. Coldebella '94, current acting general counsel, and
Julie L. Myers '94, assistant secretary of
homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement." Perry was involved in the inter-agency
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) National Security Agreement process. == Awards and honors ==