Berman Joins Covington; Ambassador Returns

Making Records

Four new members have been appointed to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, which provides grants to projects that increase public access to historical records.

The new members are Peter Gottlieb, former state archivist in Wisconsin; George Miles, curator of the rare book and manuscript collection at Yale University; Nicole Saylor, head of the American Folklife Center Archive at the Library of Congress; and William G. Thomas, a history professor at the University of Nebraska.

The commission is a 15-member board established by Congress in 1934 and chaired by the archivist of the United States.

Berman Joins Covington

Former Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., is joining the public-policy and government-affairs practice at Covington & Burling.

Berman joins former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., in the law firm’s Washington office, which also includes former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan.

Berman lost a bid for a 16th term in the House last year when he was defeated by Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman following redistricting in California.

Berman, 71, was first elected to Congress in 1982.

Back from Romania

Mark Gitenstein, the U.S. ambassador to Romania from 2009 until the end of 2012, has rejoined Mayer Brown as special counsel in Washington.

Gitenstein had joined Mayer Brown in 1989 after positions as executive director of the Foundation for Change, chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

He is the author of Matters of Principle, a book on his experience at the Judiciary Committee during the contentious fight over Judge Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987.