Whitewater Hearings August 1, 1994 - Part 1
Whitewater Hearings August 1, 1994 - Part 1
(10:55:14) In my more than 30 years of marriage, it had been he who had encouraged me to become a lawyer and to take on a full-time career, all this when it was an exception to the acceptable role of a woman with small children. During all those years, I had gladly limited my practice to the New Jersey area because of the needs of my family. In the spring and the late fall of 1993, as I weighed whether I should first seek and then accept a position at the RTC, it was my children, who are now young adults, who were the strongest advocates for my doing so. So, in fact, the overriding factor in my coming to Washington was personal-the desire to start anew, with an absorbing and challenging set of responsibilities. This is one circumstance where getting your wish carries with it more than could be anticipated. From a professional standpoint, I was, in fact, urged by a number of colleagues and acquaintances seriously to consider taking the job because they felt that I would bring to it strengths in a number of areas which were important to the task-my love of dealing with novel and difficult problems, my approach to problem -solving, which involved integration of overriding policy or strategic issues with an understanding of pragmatic concerns and, finally, my interest in management, as well as in the practice of law. I understood that I was accepting a position with a short life because the RTC will sunset on December 31, 1995, and thought that this was a plus since it would be bard to make a commitment to such a stressful and demanding position for a longer period. Furthermore, since my personal goals did not involve seeking public office or remaining in Washington permanently, and I have, in fact, maintained my residence in New Jersey, I could come to the position without worrying what this job might lead to. Therefore, I would be able to maintain -my independence, I saw the job as one similar to that which a trustee in bankruptcy perform s-managing a complex set of operational and, in my case, legal issues, while working toward the restructuring of a massive organization as it winds up its affairs. In the course of seeking advice from my colleagues about what was most important to weigh in coming to a final decision about accepting the position, one of them stressed the importance of working with a CEO whom you could respect and with whom you could share a common vision of the agency's mission. 7 This seemed to be the best advice I bad received, so I asked who would be the new permanent CEO of the RTC. I was told that a new CEO was expected to be nominated shortly, but his or her identity could not be shared with me at that time. However, a Deputy CEO for the RTC who would have day-to-day operating responsibility was about to be appointed immediately, to fill the new position created by the Completion Act, which became effective on December 17, 1993. His name was John E. Ryan. bad met him while While I bad never worked with Jack Ryan, I I was at the OTS where he was the Regional Director for the Southeast Region, based in Atlanta. More importantly, I knew "him by reputation to be strong, smart, and independent and of enormous personal integrity. He had al-ready had a long, distinguished career in bank and thrift regula-tion. Very pleased, I accepted the position. The RTC legal division has a big job. Over 80 percent of the agency's lawyers provide legal services in connection with the operation and winding up of over 700 receiverships and conservatorships and the sale of hundreds of billions of dollars of assets, Attorneys provide legal expertise in contracting, structuring, and selling real estate assets and securities portfolios, and the myriad of legal issues that any large corporation encounters. When I came to the RTC, I found a legal division that consisted of a number of independent practice areas that were geographically dispersed, providing legal services to various institutional clients within the RTC. I saw that one of my principal objectives was to develop a management structure and philosophy that would inte grate ice areas so that each area of the legal division would work with a better understanding of, and regard for, the other areas and the overall goals of the agency. I also understood that the legal work of the RTC included Managing a significant number of professional liability matters in which the agency pursues claims against directors, officers, lawyers, accountants, and others who had injured savings and loans for which the RTC had been appointed receiver or conservator. To date, these efforts have resulted in collections of almost $2 billion. I knew that the agency had been criticized, on one band, for abusing its power and bringing the full weight of the Federal Government to bear indiscriminately on those who rendered services to the S&L's and, on the other hand, for failing to pursue zealously the wrongdoers who have destroyed a large part of an industry and cost the American taxpayer so much.