John E. Bies is an attorney in the Appellate Section of the Envronment & Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He previously served as chief counsel at American Oversight and for eight years at the Department of Justice, first as Counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder and then spending seven years as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel where he advised White House and executive branch officials on congressional oversight, executive privilege, separation of powers, government ethics, and other constitutional, statutory, and administrative law issues. Prior to his service in the government, Bies handled complex civil litigation and investigation and enforcement matters as a partner at Covington & Burling LLP and clerked for Judge Sandra Lynch on the First Circuit. He received his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School.