Joe Dally Whitley (born November 12, 1950) is an American lawyer from Georgia who was the first General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security. He works in private practice at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP and has been named a Super Lawyer, listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, named a ‘’2019 Lawyer of the Year’’, is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers.

Background

During the George H. W. Bush administration, Whitley served as the Acting United States Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position in the United States Department of Justice. Under President Ronald Reagan, he was the U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Georgia, and under President George H. W. Bush, Whitley served as the U.S. Attorney in the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia in Atlanta. At the time of his appointment he was youngest person ever to be appointed a U.S. Attorney and only person to ever serve as U.S. Attorney for two separate federal jurisdictions.

Private Practice

Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security, and immediately following his service at DHS, Whitley was a partner at Alston & Bird, where he served as head of the firm's White Collar Government Enforcement & Investigations Group, his practice concentrating on government investigations, environmental and health care fraud and complex civil litigation. Whitley is the former Chair of the Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association. He is a former council member of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association. He served as Vice Chair for Governmental Affairs of the 2002–03 ABA Criminal Justice Section. He also chairs annual seminars and institutes of continuing education on White Collar Crime, Health Care Fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Internal Investigations and Cybercrime. Whitley co-chairs the ABA's Annual National Homeland Security Law Institute in Washington, DC.

Education and Teaching

Whitley received his bachelor's degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 1972, and a J.D., cum laude, in 1975 from the University of Georgia School of Law. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs and as Non-Resident Fellow at The Center for International Trade & Security (CITS) at the University of Georgia. He has been adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School, and adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law, teaching homeland security law at both.

Bar Admissions

Whitley is licensed to practice law in Georgia and the District of Columbia.

Publications and Presentations

Whitley is a frequent author, and a frequent speaker and lecturer at institutions, events and seminars, including, without limitation, the following.

Publications

Presentations