Jane C. Sherburne is an American lawyer who currently servesas Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel to
The Bank of New York Mellon and as a member of the Council of the
Administrative Conference of the United States. Sherburne is known primarily for her experience in crisis management, her work in civil rights, and her counseling to corporate boards and major financial institutions. Sherburne was Special Counsel to President
Bill Clinton and managed the White House response to ethics investigations by the Independent Counsel, most notably during the
Whitewater controversy.
Biography
Sherburne earned her BA from the
University of Minnesota in 1974, where she went on to receive a master's degree in Social Work in 1976. Sherburne received her JD from the
Georgetown University Law Center in 1983 and was Editor of ''The Georgetown Law Journal''.
Career
Sherburne began her career in the office of Congressman
Donald M. Fraser
Donald MacKay Fraser (February 20, 1924 – June 2, 2019) was an American politician from Minnesota who served as U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 1963 to 1979 and as mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 to 1994.
Ea ...
(D-MN), where she focused on issues related to public welfare and income security programs. She then served as Chief of Staff to the Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration, during the
Carter Administration
Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...
. After graduating from law school in 1983, Sherburne joined the law firm of
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
From 1994 through 1997, Sherburne was Special Counsel to the President in charge of managing the White House response to various ethics investigations brought by Congress and the Independent Counsel, including the Whitewater controversy and the suicide of
Vince Foster. Sherburne played a prominent role representing First Lady
Hillary Clinton during
Ken Starr
Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...
’s investigation of the White House, during which he targeted Mrs. Clinton.
During her time as a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, Sherburne focused on crisis management, including media relations, Congressional investigations, and civil litigation. She also created the first emergency child-care program in a law firm. While at Wilmer, Sherburne served as co-lead counsel in the lower-court consideration of the landmark case, ''
Grutter v. Bollinger'', representing the
University of Michigan in the successful defense of its affirmative action admissions policy.
Sherburne was employed by
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
from 2001 through mid-2008, during which time she was Senior Deputy General Counsel, managing the company’s response to major litigation and reputation risks; later, she served as General Counsel for Citigroup’s
Global Consumer business. Sherburne became
Wachovia's chief legal officer in June 2008, guiding the company through its near collapse and eventual merger into
Wells Fargo. She now serves in the same position at the Bank of New York Mellon.
She currently serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of Teledyne Technologies, Inc. and HSBC North America Holdings.
Professional activities and awards
Sherburne served on the Executive Committee of the
New York City Bar from 2008-2012 and was the 2013 recipient of the Top Corporate Counsel Award from the
New York Stock Exchange.
Sherburne has been recognized for her contributions to
pro bono
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
and non-profit organizations. She serves as Chair of the
National Women's Law Center Board of Directors, co-chair to the
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, or simply the Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy. At the time, Alabama Governor George Wallace had vowed to resist cour ...
, board member for the
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and is a member of the
New York Legal Aid Society. Sherburne has been honored numerous times for her pro bono work.
[Civil Rights Still Cool at 50, June 20, 2013 ]
bisnow.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherburne, Jane C.
Living people
American women lawyers
Clinton administration personnel
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Year of birth missing (living people)
Whitewater controversy
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partners
Constitution Project