David Kendall
Encyclopedia
David Evan Kendall is an American
attorney who advised President
Bill Clinton
during the Lewinsky scandal
and represented Clinton during the impeachment trial
.
, Indiana
. While a student at Wabash College
, Kendall worked during the Freedom Summer
of 1964 with the COFO on voter registration, and was the roommate of murdered civil rights worker Andrew Goodman
during the last week of his life. Kendall was arrested a few times and convicted once in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. He obtained his B.A. (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1966.
Kendall served a stint in the U.S. Army
, where he was a 2nd Lieutenant. Then, as a Rhodes Scholar, Kendall earned an M.A. at Oxford University in 1968, where he and Bill Clinton
met. He earned a J.D. from Yale Law in 1971.
, Kendall spent five years as an associate counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, focusing on criminal defense practice, handling high-profile death penalty cases including Coker v. Georgia
and the death penalty appeals of John Arthur Spenkelink and Gary Gilmore
.
He joined Williams & Connolly LLP, a Washington, D.C. law firm, in 1978 and became a partner there in 1981. He presently works on diverse matters such as intellectual property
, criminal investigations, and the Clinton Library foundation. He has appeared in trial courts in 22 states and has argued appeals in 6 federal courts of appeal, 7 state supreme courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States
. He has briefed and argued numerous important criminal cases before the Supreme Court on pro bono publico assignments. His notable clients have included AOL
, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Washington Post, the National Enquirer, and the Baltimore Orioles.
As the investigation expanded, Kendall went on to represent the Clintons in the 1998-99 impeachment proceedings, and continues to represent them in miscellaneous civil matters.
Kendall advised President Clinton during the grand jury appearance that led to the discovery of Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky
. Kendall was heavily criticized for advising Clinton to pursue the "legalistic argument" that receiving oral sex did not constitute a sexual relationship. However, he was also credited for scoring significant victories against Ken Starr, particularly when he attacked the Starr Report and the many leaks that came out of the Starr office.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney who advised President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
during the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
and represented Clinton during the impeachment trial
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
.
Background and Education
Kendall was born in 1944 and grew up in SheridanSheridan, Indiana
Sheridan is a town in Adams Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,665 at the 2010 census. The center of population of Indiana is located just northwest of Sheridan.- Geography :...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. While a student at Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
, Kendall worked during the Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi which had historically excluded most blacks from voting...
of 1964 with the COFO on voter registration, and was the roommate of murdered civil rights worker Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman was one of three American civil rights activists murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer in 1964 by members of the Ku Klux Klan.-Early life and education:...
during the last week of his life. Kendall was arrested a few times and convicted once in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. He obtained his B.A. (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1966.
Kendall served a stint in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, where he was a 2nd Lieutenant. Then, as a Rhodes Scholar, Kendall earned an M.A. at Oxford University in 1968, where he and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
met. He earned a J.D. from Yale Law in 1971.
Career
Following a clerkship with Supreme Court Justice Byron WhiteByron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
, Kendall spent five years as an associate counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, focusing on criminal defense practice, handling high-profile death penalty cases including Coker v. Georgia
Coker v. Georgia
Coker v. Georgia, , held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution forbade the death penalty for the crime of rape of a woman.-Facts:...
and the death penalty appeals of John Arthur Spenkelink and Gary Gilmore
Gary Gilmore
Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal, and murderer, who gained international notoriety for demanding that his own death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah. He became the first person executed in the United States after the U.S...
.
He joined Williams & Connolly LLP, a Washington, D.C. law firm, in 1978 and became a partner there in 1981. He presently works on diverse matters such as intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, criminal investigations, and the Clinton Library foundation. He has appeared in trial courts in 22 states and has argued appeals in 6 federal courts of appeal, 7 state supreme courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. He has briefed and argued numerous important criminal cases before the Supreme Court on pro bono publico assignments. His notable clients have included AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Washington Post, the National Enquirer, and the Baltimore Orioles.
Representation of President Clinton
Kendall began representing President Clinton in November 1993 in an investigation related to the Whitewater Development Company, Inc.Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy was an American politics controversy that began with the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture in the 1970s and 1980s.A New York...
As the investigation expanded, Kendall went on to represent the Clintons in the 1998-99 impeachment proceedings, and continues to represent them in miscellaneous civil matters.
Kendall advised President Clinton during the grand jury appearance that led to the discovery of Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
. Kendall was heavily criticized for advising Clinton to pursue the "legalistic argument" that receiving oral sex did not constitute a sexual relationship. However, he was also credited for scoring significant victories against Ken Starr, particularly when he attacked the Starr Report and the many leaks that came out of the Starr office.
Honors
He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from his alma mater, Wabash College, on May 16, 2010.Personal
He has been married to Anne L. Kendall, a psychologist with the Wake Kendall Group, since 1968, and they have three children.Further reading
- Panelist, Columbia Law School Alumni Forum on Law & Journalism, April 7, 2005.
- Interview with Wabash College magazine