By Cortney Critchfield
A professor in the J. Reuben Clark Law School will begin a new chapter in his life as he takes a leave of absence from BYU and departs to Washington, D.C., in late May to work for the Bush Administration.
Thomas Lee, son of former BYU President Rex Lee, was appointed Monday to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under the Bush Administration.
With this new title, Lee will head the Federal Programs Branch. This consists of more than 100 attorneys who handle litigation on behalf of the President of the United States, Cabinet officers and other government officials, and approximately 100 federal agencies, according to a letter from the current Law School Dean, Reese Hansen, to the Law School faculty and staff.
The Federal Program Branch duties include defending the constitutionality of federal statutes and the legality of government decisions. In other words, Lee and the Federal Programs Branch will defend laws that congress pass by showing how they apply to the already established laws of the constitution.
Faculty members at BYU consider Lee”s new call very beneficial. “This is an excellent opportunity for professional development,” said Jim Gordon, professor of law at BYU. “He will receive excellent experience.”
Lee is not the first BYU Law School faculty member who has taken time away from his or her profession to serve the government. In the past 15 years, at least four other professors have taken a leave of absence to work for the Federal Government.
“It is consistent with the pattern of other professors…they will leave for a couple of years and then come back,” said Kevin Worthen, the newly appointed Dean of the Law School.
Taking this leave from the Law School provides both personal success and an opportunity to serve.
“It enriches them professionally and it provides service to the country,” Worthen said. “This is a great opportunity for him”.
Although this is a great opportunity for Lee, his absence will be felt.
“Students have tremendous respect for him,” Gordon said. “We will miss him while he is gone.”
Worthen added, “He will be missed but this will be beneficial to the Law School because he will become a better teacher and a better scholar”.
Lee plans to return to the Law School after his government service ends. The duration of his time working for the government is unknown, it depends on the outcome of the Presidential election later this year.
Lee received his education from BYU and the University of Chicago Law School. He spent time working as a law clerk for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit and then Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. From 1992 to 1997, Lee was practicing law with Parr, Waddoups, Brown, Gee and Loveless in Salt Lake City. He joined the BYU Law School in 1997.
