Tommy Thompson, Former Secretary of Health & Human Services, Joins Akin Gump as Partner and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP as Senior Advisor

    WASHINGTON, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Former U.S. Department of Health and
 Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer
 & Feld LLP (Akin Gump) as a partner and will become the independent chair of
 the Deloitte Center for Health Care Management and Transformation, the two
 firms announced today.  As a partner at Akin Gump and as a senior advisor and
 independent chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Care Management and
 Transformation, Secretary Thompson will focus on developing solutions for
 clients in the health care industry, as well as for companies doing business
 in the public sector.
     "I look forward to working with Akin Gump and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP as
 they each explore and develop creative solutions to health care challenges
 facing individuals, communities, governments and businesses in America and
 promote advances in health care around the world," Secretary Thompson said.
 "This is a great way to embark on a new career in the private sector, with two
 firms that have an unmatched level of expertise, global reach and influence in
 the health care field."
     "I am very happy to welcome Secretary Tommy Thompson as a senior advisor
 to Deloitte & Touche USA," said James Quigley, CEO. "The Secretary's
 understanding, insight and expertise regarding health care and public sector
 issues will enrich the services and perspective offered in these areas. He has
 been a major force on the front lines; and I highly value that experience and
 what it can mean for clients."  Quigley noted that Secretary Thompson will
 initially serve a critical role in advising on the establishment of, and
 serving as independent chairman for, the Deloitte Center for Health Care
 Management and Transformation.  Based in Washington, D.C., the center will
 facilitate and organize health care thought leadership and solution
 development, while focusing on major public health management and
 transformation issues in which the federal government and the states are
 involved.
     Ambassador Robert S. Strauss, Akin Gump's founder, stated, "Secretary
 Thompson has dedicated his professional life to public service, and now is
 bringing his immense talents to the private sector.  Given the many
 opportunities he had, we could not be more delighted by his decision to join
 Akin Gump."
     Secretary Thompson has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in public
 service.  In 1966, at the age of 23, he won a seat in Wisconsin's state
 Assembly.  He became assistant Assembly minority leader in 1973 and Assembly
 minority leader in 1981.  Elected governor of Wisconsin in 1986, he was
 reelected in 1990, and in 1994 became the first governor in the state's
 history to be elected to a third four-year term.  In 1998 he was elected to a
 fourth term, and served in that position until his appointment as secretary of
 Health & Human Services in 2001.
     As the Health & Human Services secretary, Thompson served as the nation's
 leading advocate for the health and welfare of all Americans.  He worked to
 modernize and add prescription drug coverage to Medicare for the first time in
 the program's history.  A leading advocate of welfare reform, he also focused
 on expanding services to seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income
 Americans.  Additionally, Secretary Thompson is recognized for his
 contributions to the U.S. response to the threat of bioterrorism and for his
 leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad; he
 currently serves as the chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
 Tuberculosis and Malaria.  He was the 19th individual to head the Department
 of Health & Human Services, which employs more than 60,000 personnel and had a
 fiscal year 2004 budget of more than $500 billion.
     As governor of Wisconsin, Secretary Thompson was perhaps best known for
 his efforts to revitalize the Wisconsin economy, for his national leadership
 on welfare reform, and for his work in expanding health care access across all
 segments of society.  He has received numerous awards for his public service,
 including the Anti-Defamation League's Distinguished Public Service Award,
 Governing Magazine's Public Official of the Year Award, and the Horatio Alger
 Award, which is awarded annually to "dedicated community leaders who
 demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence-as
 exemplified by remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard
 work, self-reliance, and perseverance."  He is a former chairman of the
 National Governors' Association, the Education Commission of the States and
 the Midwestern Governors' Conference.  Secretary Thompson also served in the
 Wisconsin National Guard and the Army Reserve.  He received both his B.S. and
 his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
     Joining Secretary Thompson at Akin Gump as counsel is Ladd Wiley.  Mr.
 Wiley previously served as counselor to Secretary Thompson at the U.S.
 Department of Health & Human Services.  Before assuming that post, he served
 as the secretary's principal deputy general counsel and, during Secretary
 Thompson's tenure as governor of Wisconsin, as his chief legal counsel.  Mr.
 Wiley received his B.A. from Cornell College in Iowa and his J.D. from the
 University of Wisconsin.
     R. Bruce McLean, Akin Gump's chairman, stated, "Over the course of an
 extraordinarily productive career in public service, Secretary Thompson has
 been one of the leading contributors to the nation's dialogue on issues
 involving health, welfare and education, among others.  Although we expect
 Secretary Thompson to contribute in many ways to our firm, he will be focusing
 on helping us to develop a multidisciplinary health and life science practice
 in coordination with a team of partners from our health, litigation,
 corporate, regulatory and policy practices. He has developed a reputation for
 creativity and boldness that is nearly unmatched.  We are extremely pleased
 that Secretary Thompson has decided to join our firm."
     John Bigalke, a vice chairman of Deloitte & Touche USA and managing
 partner of its Life Sciences & Health Care industry group added, "I am excited
 about the prospect of combining the resources of industry-leading life science
 and health practices with the insights and advice that Secretary Thompson
 brings to create a transforming vision for private and public sectors. There
 are pressing issues to be addressed and I believe, working with Secretary
 Thompson, solutions will be achieved that can have a lasting effect on behalf
 of our clients."
 
     About Akin Gump:
     Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading
 international law firm, numbers more than 900 lawyers with offices in Austin,
 Brussels, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York,
 Philadelphia, Riyadh (affiliate), San Antonio, San Francisco and Washington.
 The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and
 international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust;
 appellate; banking and finance; capital markets; communications and
 information technology; corporate and securities; corporate governance;
 employee benefits; energy; entertainment and media; environmental; estate
 planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; global
 security; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property;
 international trade; investment funds; labor and employment; land use;
 litigation; mergers and acquisitions; private equity; privatization; project
 development and finance; public law and policy; real estate development and
 finance; Russia/CIS; tax; and technology.  For additional information, please
 visit our Web site at akingump.com.
 
     About Deloitte:
     Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss
 Verein, its member firms and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. As
 a Swiss Verein (association), neither Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu nor any of its
 member firms has any liability for each other's acts or omissions. Each of the
 member firms is a separate and independent legal entity operating under the
 names "Deloitte," "Deloitte & Touche," "Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu," or other
 related names. Services are provided by the member firms or their subsidiaries
 or affiliates and not by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Verein.
     Deloitte & Touche USA LLP is the U.S. member firm of Deloitte Touche
 Tohmatsu. In the U.S., services are provided by the subsidiaries of Deloitte &
 Touche USA LLP (Deloitte & Touche LLP, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Deloitte Tax
 LLP, and their subsidiaries), and not by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.
 http://www.deloitte.com/us
 
 

SOURCE  Deloitte & Touche USA LLP