{{short description|American lawyer and diplomat}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Jeff Bleich | image = Amb Jeffrey Bleich 8x10.jpg | office = 24th United States Ambassador to Australia | president = Barack Obama | term_start = November 26, 2009 | term_end = September 12, 2013 | predecessor = Robert McCallum Jr. | successor = John Berry | birth_name = Jeffrey Laurence Bleich | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1961}} | birth_place = Birkenfeld, West Germany (now Germany) | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = Becky Pratt | children = 3 | education = Amherst College (BA)<br />Harvard University (MPP)<br />University of California, Berkeley (JD) }} '''Jeffrey Laurence Bleich''' ({{IPAc-en|b|l|aɪ|ʃ}}; born 1961) is an American lawyer, diplomat, tech executive, and academic from California.
Bleich is the former United States Ambassador to Australia, and currently the General Counsel, of Anthropic.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reisinger |first1=Sue |title=AI Startup Anthropic Picks Legal Legend As GC |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/2380283/ai-startup-anthropic-picks-legal-legend-as-gc- |website=Law360.com |publisher=LexisNexis |access-date=24 August 2025}}</ref> A longtime friend of President Barack Obama, Bleich joined the White House staff in March 2009 as Special Counsel to the President and was nominated later that year to become the U.S. Ambassador to Australia. Bleich served as ambassador from 2009 to 2013. After stepping down from his post, he returned to the United States and became a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson and later group CEO at the Dentons law firm in San Francisco. He ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2018 election, before being appointed as a special master for multi-district litigation for the U.S. District Court, and later serving as CLO and General Counsel at Cruise and Anthropic, respectively.
==Early life and education== Jeffrey Laurence Bleich<ref name="OaklandTribune">Richman, Josh. "[http://www.contracostatimes.com/bay-area-news/ci_13335762 Obama nominates Piedmont lawyer as ambassador to Australia]." ''Oakland Tribune'' September 14, 2009</ref> was born in 1961<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bleich-jeffrey-l |title=Jeffrey L. Bleich (1961–) |publisher=History.state.gov |date=September 12, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> at the U.S. 98th Army Hospital in Germany and grew up in the U.S. state of Connecticut.<ref name=usembassy>[http://canberra.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html Ambassador Bleich | Embassy of the United States Canberra, Australia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408161306/http://canberra.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html |date=April 8, 2012 }}</ref> He graduated from Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut. Bleich graduated from Amherst College ''magna cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1983. Bleich was admitted to study at Harvard University but deferred for a year to take a public policy fellowship at Coro in St. Louis, where he became involved in juvenile justice issues. At Harvard, Bleich went to the John F. Kennedy School of Government as a 1986 John F. Kennedy Fellow, graduating with a Master of Public Policy.<ref name="Norington">"Norington, Brad. "[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26060685-5013871,00.html Barack Obama's new man in Canberra: Jeff Bleich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912235800/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26060685-5013871,00.html |date=September 12, 2009 }}." ''Australian'' September 12, 2009.</ref><ref name="CSU"/> Bleich attended the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and received his J.D. in 1989. He was editor-in-chief of the ''California Law Review'' and Order of the Coif.<ref name="Norington"/> He received a Certificate of Study in Public and Private International Law from the Hague Academy of International Law, Netherlands in 1993.
==Legal career== Bleich served as a law clerk to Judge Abner Mikva of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1989 to 1990 and to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 to 1991. He was legal assistant to Judge Howard M. Holtzmann of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal at The Hague from 1991 to 1992, and Special Rapporteur to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.<ref name="CSU"/>
Bleich joined the Los Angeles-headquartered firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in 1992, and was made partner three years later, in December 1995.<ref name="MTO">[http://www.mto.com/lawyers/Jeffrey-L-Bleich Jeffrey L. Bleich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214232537/http://www.mto.com/lawyers/Jeffrey-L-Bleich |date=December 14, 2013 }}, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.</ref> His practice there was focused primarily on general civil litigation, with emphasis on complex litigation, appellate practice, media law, communications law, and intellectual property.<ref name="CSU"/>
From 1993 to 2006 Bleich served as an adjunct lecturer in law at Berkeley Law, teaching constitutional law and upper-level seminar courses in international human rights, habeas corpus, and appellate advocacy.<ref name="CSU"/>
Bleich served as president of the State Bar of California from 2007 to 2008 and held leadership positions in several other legal services organizations, including president of the San Francisco Bar Association in 2003,<ref name="CSU"/> president of the Barristers Club of San Francisco,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfbar.org/blog/barristers-and-senior-lawyers-cocktail-party/|title = Barristers and Senior Lawyers' Cocktail Party – the Bar Association of San Francisco| date=May 29, 2014 }}</ref> Chair of Legal Services for Children, Co-chair of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights for the SF Bay Area, and the Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court. Bleich served as chair of the American Bar Association Amicus Curiae Committee from 2006 to 2009.<ref name="MTO"/> He also served on an ABA subcommittee on corporate social responsibility and on the ABA Section on International Law. He was elected to the American Law Institute in 2003.<ref name="OaklandTribune"/> He has published over 100 law and policy articles and served on some 20 different boards, including the boards of Human Rights Watch and Legal Community Against Violence<ref name="Norington"/> as well as the Boalt Hall Alumni Association and the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco.<ref name="CSU"/>
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Bleich as Special Counsel to the President in the White House. Among his tasks was to address confirmation and personnel issues and to advise on other sensitive matters. He moderated a discussion on human rights in the new administration at the 2009 American Bar Association's Section of International Law Spring Meeting in April 2009.<ref>"[http://www.insidejustice.com/law/index.php/intl/2009/04/20/aba_international_law_spring_obama ABA Section of International Law Panel Discussion: Re-Shaping the Human Rights Agenda: Opportunities in the New Obama Administration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713040341/http://www.insidejustice.com/law/index.php/intl/2009/04/20/aba_international_law_spring_obama |date=July 13, 2011 }}," Inside Justice, April 20, 2009.</ref>
Bleich returned to private practice in 2014. Following the end of his diplomatic service, Bleich rejoined the partnership at the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.<ref name="MTO"/> In 2016, Bleich joined Dentons LLP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202752417558/Dentons-Bags-ExUS-Aussie-Ambassador-From-Munger-Tolles?slreturn=20160417175356 |title=Dentons Bags Ex-U.S. Aussie Ambassador From Munger Tolles |work=The American Lawyer |date=March 16, 2016 |access-date=June 6, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819061229/http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202752417558/Dentons-Bags-ExUS-Aussie-Ambassador-From-Munger-Tolles?slreturn=20160417175356 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dentons.com/en/whats-different-about-dentons/connecting-you-to-talented-lawyers-around-the-globe/news/2016/march/jeffrey-l-bleich-former-us-ambassador-to-australia-joins-dentons-as-partner |access-date=May 17, 2016 |archive-date=June 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615135224/https://www.dentons.com/en/whats-different-about-dentons/connecting-you-to-talented-lawyers-around-the-globe/news/2016/march/jeffrey-l-bleich-former-us-ambassador-to-australia-joins-dentons-as-partner |url-status=dead |title=Dentons - Jeffrey L. Bleich, former US Ambassador to Australia, joins Dentons as Partner }}</ref> Bleich's practice focused on cybersecurity,<ref>[http://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2015/jeff-bleich-and-grant-davis-denny-discuss-cross-border-data-privacy-in-southeast-asia] {{dead link|date=June 2017}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} trade,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2015/jeff-bleich-quoted-in-the-wall-street-journal-on-historic-trade-deal- |title=Jeff Bleich Quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Historic Trade Deal |access-date=2015-07-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319021813/http://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2015/jeff-bleich-quoted-in-the-wall-street-journal-on-historic-trade-deal- |archive-date=March 19, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and international disputes, as well as on-pro bono work.,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mto.com/lawyers/Jeffrey-L-Bleich |title=Hon. Jeffrey L. Bleich |access-date=2013-12-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214232537/http://www.mto.com/lawyers/Jeffrey-L-Bleich |archive-date=December 14, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dentons.com/en/jeffrey-bleich |title=Jeffrey Bleich |publisher=Dentons |date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=June 6, 2017 |archive-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403005035/http://www.dentons.com/en/jeffrey-bleich |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was selected in 2014, 2015, and 2016 as one of the leading 500 Lawyers in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawdragon.com/the-2014-15-lawdragon-500-leading-lawyers/ |title=The 2014-15 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers |publisher=Lawdragon |date= May 29, 2015|access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawdragon.com/2015/12/06/jeffrey-bleich/|title=Lawyer Limelight: Jeffrey Bleich|date=December 6, 2015}}</ref> Serving pro bono, he obtained posthumous admission to the California Bar for a Chinese national, Hong Yen Chang, in a petition addressing the unlawful exclusion of Chinese in the 1890s, leading the Court to "right this historic wrong."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-chinese-lawyer-20150316-story.html |title=Chinese immigrant, denied law license in 1890, gets one posthumously |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 16, 2015 |access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> Bleich also successfully represented a victim of domestic violence in an action against her abuser in a second unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/fp-v-monier-34546|title = F.P. V. Monier - S216566 - Mon, 11/27/2017 | California Supreme Court Resources}}</ref> In 2016, he was profiled by LawDragon as one of the "rock stars" of law.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dewey |first=Katrina |url=http://www.lawdragon.com/2015/12/06/jeffrey-bleich/ |title=Lawyer Limelight: Jeffrey Bleich |publisher=Lawdragon |date=December 6, 2015 |access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref>
Bleich was appointed Special Master for the United States District Court in a multi-district litigation dispute involving international price fixing,<ref name="leagle.com">{{cite web|author=JAMES DONATO, District Judge |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20190503d26 |title=IN RE CAPACITORS ANTITRUS | No. 3:17-md-02801... | 20190503d26 |publisher=Leagle.com |date=2019-05-01 |access-date=2022-08-12}}</ref> and also has served as a neutral in high-stakes technology disputes, including mediating a $650 million settlement the ''In re Facebooks Biometrics'' case.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-businesswire/452688732ac74174a3ad238c2108beb2|title = Record-Breaking $550 million Settlement in Principle of Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Reached by Law Firms Edelson, Robbins Geller and Labaton Sucharow and Facebook|website = Associated Press|date = January 29, 2020}}</ref>
Bleich joined Cruise LLC, the autonomous vehicle company backed by GM, Honda, Softbank, Microsoft, Walmart, and T. Rowe Price as Chief Legal Officer in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/21/cruise-hires-pge-board-chairman-jeff-bleich-as-chief-legal-officer/|title = Cruise hires PG&E board chairman Jeff Bleich as chief legal officer| date=April 21, 2020 }}</ref> in 2025, Bleich joined AI Frontier Lab, Anthropic, as General Counsel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Frazier |first1=Kevin |title=Scaling Laws: Anthropic's General Counsel, Jeff Bleich, Explores the Intersection of Law, Business, and Emerging Technology |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/scaling-laws--anthropic's-general-counsel--jeff-bleich--explores-the-intersection-of-law--business--and-emerging-technology |publisher=Lawfaremedia.com |access-date=18 November 2025}}</ref>
==Higher education and academic positions== Bleich served on the board of trustees of California State University, from 2004 to 2009. He served as vice chair from 2006 to 2008 and as chair from 2008 to 2009.<ref name="CSU">"[http://www.calstate.edu/bot/bios/bleich.shtml Jeffrey L. Bleich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917025748/http://www.calstate.edu/bot/bios/bleich.shtml |date=September 17, 2009 }}." California State University Board of Trustees.</ref>
From 2014 to 2020, Bleich served as a member of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and as the board chair from 2016 to 2019.
Bleich served on the Board of Stanford's Center for the Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://casbs.stanford.edu/jeffrey-l-bleich|title=Jeffrey L. Bleich - Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences|website=casbs.stanford.edu|access-date=June 6, 2017|archive-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611203028/https://casbs.stanford.edu/jeffrey-l-bleich|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also joined CASBS as a Visiting Scholar from 2024 to 2025, where he published Substack writings on Yascha Mounk and Frances Fukuyama's "Persuasion" Stack.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past Fellows, Research Affiliates, and Visiting Scholars |url=https://casbs.stanford.edu/people/past-fellows-research-affiliates-and-visiting-scholars |website=casbs.stanford.edu |publisher=Casbs.stanford.edu |access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Persuasion |url=https://www.persuasion.community/ |website=Persuasion.community |publisher=Substack.com}}</ref>
He was elected to the board of his ''alma mater'' Amherst College in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts/trustees/biographies/node/684153|title=Trustees: Jeffrey L. Bleich|website=Amherst College|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>
Bleich served as an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney's United States Studies Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ussc.edu.au/events/student-roundtable-with-the-honourable-jeffrey-bleich|title = Student roundtable with the Honourable Jeffrey Bleich — United States Studies Centre}}</ref>
In 2018, Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, named Bleich a professorial fellow to its College of Business, Government and Law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flinders.edu.au/people/jeffrey.bleich|title=Professor Jeffrey Bleich| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413001650/https://www.flinders.edu.au/people/jeffrey.bleich| archive-date= 13 April 2021}}</ref>
==U.S. Ambassador to Australia== Prior to being selected by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador, Bleich had been a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations<ref name="CSU"/> the Pacific Council on International Policy, the International Law Association, and a member of the advisory board of the American Society of International Law.<ref name="OaklandTribune"/>
The Senate confirmed Bleich to be United States Ambassador to Australia in a voice vote on November 10, 2009. His diplomatic credentials were accepted by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, on November 24, 2009. Bleich's term in Australia was marked by the U.S. "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific, with Australia being the focal point for that shift.<ref>Interview with Ambassador Bleich, The Politic: Yale Journal of International Policy 2013 http://thepolitic.org/an-interview-with-jeff-bleich-u-s-ambassador-to-australia/</ref>
Bleich joined President Obama at the announcement of the rebalance at a special sitting of Parliament in Canberra before traveling with Obama to Darwin, Northern Territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://photos.state.gov/libraries/adelaide/231771/speeches/20111116.pdf|title=Remarks of Ambassador Bleichat the US Embassy, Canberra PresidentObama Introduction to Staff|access-date=June 6, 2017|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032757/http://photos.state.gov/libraries/adelaide/231771/speeches/20111116.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other key achievements included overseeing record growth in trade between the U.S. and Australia, bringing the Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty into force, establishing new alliance agreements for satellites and cyber, executing a new space cooperation agreement that supported the Mars Curiosity rover landing, leading joint U.S.-Australia efforts in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province, and promoting regional efforts to reduce domestic violence.<ref name=usembassy/><ref>National Press Club Address, November 2012, http://www.npc.org.au/speakerarchive/ambassador-jeffrey-bleich1.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232418/http://www.npc.org.au/speakerarchive/ambassador-jeffrey-bleich1.html |date=December 2, 2013 }}</ref>
For his service, Bleich received numerous awards, including the highest civilian honors awarded by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy and Director of National Intelligence. In 2013, he received the State Department's highest award for a non-career ambassador, the Sue M. Cobb Prize for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating called Bleich "the best U.S. Ambassador ever sent to Australia" at the John Curtin Lecture in Perth.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} ''The Australian'' newspaper called Bleich "Obama's Superman."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/barack-obama-sends-us-his-superman-jeff-bleich/story-e6frg6nf-1225772109681 |title=Nocookies |publisher=The Australian |access-date=June 6, 2017}}{{dead link|date=January 2025}}</ref>
==Other involvement in politics== [[File:Julia Gillard US Ambassador.jpg|thumb|right|Bleich with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard]] During the Clinton administration, Bleich served as director of the White House Council on Youth Violence, formed during the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre.<ref name="Norington"/>
Bleich met Barack Obama almost 20 years before Bleich was nominated to become U.S. Ambassador to Australia, when Bleich tried to recruit Obama to become a law clerk to Abner Mikva. The two later became friends. Bleich was in attendance during Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and shared breakfast with him two days later.<ref name="Norington"/>
During Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, Bleich was a founding member and co-chair of Obama's national finance committee, co-chair of Obama's higher education advisory board, and California co-chair. He donated to Hillary Clinton and raised funds for her to retire her campaign's debt after the Democratic primary.<ref name="Norington"/>
Bleich joined the White House team in March 2009, serving as Special Counsel to the President until his nomination as Ambassador.
Bleich served on the Asia Policy and Cybersecurity Policy teams for Secretary Hillary Clinton, and was a member of National Security Leaders for Biden in 2020 Presidential Campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalsecurityleaders4biden.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924123500/https://www.nationalsecurityleaders4biden.com/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |title=Home |website=nationalsecurityleaders4biden.com}}</ref> and his National Finance Committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://joebiden.com/asmfr200830jkl/|title=Volunteer Fundraisers|access-date=December 14, 2020|archive-date=December 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214212734/https://joebiden.com/asmfr200830jkl/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On May 30, 2017, Bleich formally launched his campaign to become the 50th lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of California.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Jeff-Bleich-second-former-ambassador-in-11183841.php|title = Jeff Bleich - second former ambassador in lieutenant governor race|date = May 31, 2017}}</ref><ref name="leagle.com"/> He lost in the Democratic primary to Eleni Kounalakis, who went on to be elected lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
==Post-diplomatic career== Bleich was the chair of the board of Nuix, a publicly traded company on the ASX.<ref name="Ambassador p. 25">["Mr. Ambassador's words of Wisdom for Biden Administration," the Weekend Australian 14 November 2020 p. 25, byline Damon Kitney"]</ref> Nuix produces forensics and information integrity software that was used in the Panama Papers investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/surging-nuix-points-to-the-tech-future-20201204-p56kn1|title = Why a surging Nuix points to the tech future|date = December 4, 2020}}</ref> It was the largest tech IPO of any company on the ASX in 2020 and one of the largest tech IPOs ever on the ASX.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?offerset=ta_8for8_premium_new&sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Fcompanies%2Fmassive-stag-for-nuix-as-shares-rocket-on-debt%2Fnews-story%2F2d2d7c87007df7db038df801975d0aeb&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D26EF7D1DD5F09EBD-658B2BE19BE91220%7CMCORGID%3D5FE61C8B533204850A490D4D%40AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1607907916&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F|title = Subscribe to the Australian }}{{dead link|date=January 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}
Bleich served as chair of the board of PG&E Company during its bankruptcy proceedings from April 2019 to May 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.planningreport.com/2019/05/30/new-pge-board-chair-jeff-bleich-utilitys-path-forward|title = New PG&E Board Chair Jeff Bleich on the Utility's Path Forward | the Planning Report}}</ref> Bleich joined PG&E as part of an interim Board to restructure the company following its liability exposure for fires associated with PG&E equipment in 2017 and 2018.<ref name="Ambassador p. 25"/> Bleich participated in PG&E's reparations to all wildfire victims, the company's acknowledgement of criminal wrong-doing, and its successful emergence from Bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pge-emerges-from-bankruptcy-pays-54-billion-into-wildfire-fund-2020-07-02|title = PG&E emerges from bankruptcy, pays $5.4 billion into wildfire fund| newspaper=Marketwatch }}</ref>
Bleich served on the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board after being appointed by President Obama in November 2014, and was later elected vice-chair and then chair for three successive terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members/jeffrey-bleich |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706104347/http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members/jeffrey-bleich |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2015 |title=Jeff Bleich |publisher=Eca.state.gov |date=February 22, 1999 |access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board: Jeff Bleich, Chair|url=https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members/jeffrey-bleich|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706104347/http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members/jeffrey-bleich|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 6, 2015|access-date=2019-10-19|publisher=State.gov}}</ref>
Bleich served by appointment of former secretary of state John Kerry on the board of the East West Center as a member of the executive committee from 2017 to 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Five New Members Appointed to EWC's Board of Governors |url=https://www.eastwestcenter.org/news/news-release/five-new-members-appointed-%E2%80%A8ewc%E2%80%99s-board-governors |website=Eastwestcenter.org}}</ref>
Bleich was appointed by President Biden to the National Security Education Board.<ref>{{cite web |title=Members of National Security Education Board as of 2025 |url=https://www.dlnseo.mil/Portals/148/NSEB%20Members%2C%20January%202025.pdf |publisher=dlnseo.mil}}</ref>
In California, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Bleich to the Governor's International Trade and Investment Advisory Council.,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18954 |title=Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. - Newsroom |publisher=Gov.ca.gov |access-date=June 6, 2017 |archive-date=January 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130210151/https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18954 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and then-Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed Bleich to serve on her Blue Ribbon Cyber-Exploitation Panel. Bleich also Chaired Governor Brown's judicial selection advisory committee for the selection of judges from 2014 to 2018. Bleich was appointed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to serve as vice-chair of the Rules Revision Commission for the State Bar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/Conduct-Discipline/Ethics/Committees/Rules-Revision/Rules-Commission-2014/Roster|title=The State Bar of California}}</ref>
Bleich has served on a number of other private company and non-profit boards since 2014, including RAND Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rand.org/australia/advisory-board.html |title=Australia Advisory Board |publisher=RAND |date=April 27, 2017 |access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> the Pratt Family Advisory Board,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/us-ambassador-for-pratt-advisory-board/story-e6frg8zx-1226737054043 |title=Nocookies |work=TheAustralian |publisher=The Australian |access-date=June 6, 2017 |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303045721/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/us-ambassador-for-pratt-advisory-board/story-e6frg8zx-1226737054043 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Futures Without Violence,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/about-us/board-and-staff/board-directors/|title=Board of Directors - Futures Without Violence Futures Without Violence|website=futureswithoutviolence.org|access-date=June 6, 2017|archive-date=July 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705204820/https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/about-us/board-and-staff/board-directors/|url-status=dead}}</ref> the World Affairs Council,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldaffairs.org/about-us/council-leadership|title=Council Leadership|access-date=December 14, 2020|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420104059/https://www.worldaffairs.org/about-us/council-leadership|url-status=dead}}</ref> the American Security Project,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americansecurityproject.org/about/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors -|access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> Verified Voting,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://verifiedvoting.org/team/#advisors|title = Who We Are}}</ref> the San Francisco Symphony, the Folger Shakespeare Library,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.folger.edu/board-governors|title = Board of Governors|date = December 15, 2014}}</ref> and the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.law.cuny.edu/academics/social-justice/sorensen/founding-advisory-board/|title = Founding Advisory Board|date = January 18, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Recognition and honours== Bleich was recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the ''Daily Journal'', as California Attorney of the Year by ''California Lawyer'', and as one of America's leading "Bet the Company" lawyers by ''Best Lawyers''.<ref name="MTO"/> In 2024 he received the Burton "Legends in Law" at the Library of Congress. <ref>{{cite web |title=Winners of the Legends in Law Award |url=https://www.burtonawards.com/winners-of-the-legends-in-law-award-by-corporation/ |website=burtonawards.com |publisher=The Burton Awards}}</ref>
Bleich has also been recognized for his pro bono service to immigrants, homeless and foster youth, veterans, victims of gun violence, survivors of domestic abuse, human rights organizations, religious and racial minorities, gay and lesbian service members, journalists, Native Americans, detainees, and others victims of discrimination. These include the Peter Haas Public Service Medal from University of California, Berkeley,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awards.berkeley.edu/peter-e-haas-public-service-award-recipients|title = Peter e. Haas Public Service Award Recipients | Berkeley Awards}}</ref> the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/probono_public_service/projects_awards/pro_bono_publico_award/past_recipients/|title = Past Recipients}}</ref> the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Robert Sproul Award,<ref>[https://lccrsf.org/page/2/?s=sproul+] {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} the American Jewish Committee Learned Hand Award,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/boalt-alumnus-jeffrey-bleich-89-elected-california-state-bar-president/|title = Boalt Alumnus Jeffrey Bleich '89 Elected California State Bar President| date=July 24, 2007 }}</ref> and the One Justice Attorney of the Year Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://onejustice.org/champions-of-justice/|title=Champions of Justice – OneJustice|access-date=December 14, 2020|archive-date=September 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930201711/https://onejustice.org/champions-of-justice/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2017 he received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award for Excellence in the Legal Profession<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jbasf.org/past-events.html |title=Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco: Events |website=www.jbasf.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711095615/http://www.jbasf.org/past-events.html |archive-date=2016-07-11}}</ref> from the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web | title=Honored to have received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award from the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco last night. I will strive to be half as wise and impactful as the No. notoriousRBG | website=Facebook | url=https://www.facebook.com/ambassadorbleich/photos/a.1847746325549394/1944631845860841/?type=3&eid=ARCVi4KdF3yTk_XznLnvNenmSO0plamMI7O8TzNTimg52NZpu4XTaL7gajCPPNMXXFdVLHCWcfIn9TkY&locale=ms_MY&_rdr | language=ms | access-date=January 27, 2025}}</ref>
Bleich also holds at least three honorary degrees: *In May 2011, Bleich was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from San Francisco State University.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calstate.edu/honorarydegrees/2011/bio-bleich.shtml|title=Honorary Degrees | CSU|access-date=July 31, 2011|archive-date=August 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827121905/http://www.calstate.edu/honorarydegrees/2011/bio-Bleich.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> *In 2014, Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, awarded him the honorary degree of doctor of the university.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flinders.edu.au/about/governance/awards-and-prizes/honorary-degree-recipients.cfm |title=Honorary degree recipients - Flinders University |access-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412075240/http://www.flinders.edu.au/about/governance/awards-and-prizes/honorary-degree-recipients.cfm |archive-date=April 12, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> *Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, awarded Bleich the honorary degree of doctor of the university in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.griffith.edu.au/2019/12/18/jeff-bleich-honoured-at-griffith-university-graduation/|title = Top diplomat honoured with Griffith DUniv| date=December 18, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/leiden-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/new-direction-for-the-pca-the-work-of-the-expert-group/EEC0C8505B18A63D9F4C2FA325EF088E|doi=10.1017/S092215650000265X|title=A New Direction for the PCA: The Work of the Expert Group|year=1993|last1=Bleich|first1=J.L.|journal=Leiden Journal of International Law|volume=6|issue=2|pages=215–240|s2cid=145333515 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
===Jeff Bleich Centre=== <!---redirects target this section---> In 2018, Flinders University in Adelaide established the Jeff Bleich Centre for the U.S. Alliance in Digital Technology, Security, and Governance, in recognition of Bleich's work in this field.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/technology/cybersecurity-centre-to-defend-democracy/|title = Cybersecurity centre to defend democracy| newspaper=The Lead South Australia |date = June 26, 2019 | last1=Spence | first1=Andrew | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722135659/https://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/technology/cybersecurity-centre-to-defend-democracy/| archive-date= 22 July 2024}}</ref> Now called the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies (JBC), the centre is a research centre within the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders.<ref>{{cite web | title=Jeff Bleich Centre | website=Flinders University | date=December 13, 2024 | url=https://www.flinders.edu.au/jeff-bleich-centre | access-date=January 27, 2025| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241229003811/https://www.flinders.edu.au/jeff-bleich-centre| archive-date= 29 Dec 2024| url-status=live}}</ref>
==Family and personal life== Bleich's wife is Rebecca Pratt "Becky" Bleich,<ref name="OaklandTribune"/> and they have three children. He collects Elvis Presley memorabilia.<ref name="Norington"/>
Bleich was a longtime friend of Willie Mays, and serves as trustee of the Willie Mays and May Maes Trust and chair of the board of the Say Hey Foundation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Up4x7U20ZVUC&q=bleich+willie+mays&pg=PA565|title=Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend|first=James S.|last=Hirsch|date=April 3, 2010|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781439171653|access-date=June 6, 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref> In Australia, he regularly attended home games of the Canberra Cavalry Australian Baseball League team, normally in association with the American Australian Association.{{citation needed|date=January 2026}}
== See also == * List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Jeff Bleich}} *[http://www.jeffbleich.com/ Official Campaign Site] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20131214232537/http://www.mto.com/lawyers/Jeffrey-L-Bleich Official profile] from Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP *[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/102436.htm Official biography] from the State Department Bureau of Public Affairs
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleich, Jeffrey Laurence}} Category:1961 births Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Australia Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Amherst College alumni Category:California lawyers Category:Connecticut lawyers Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Category:Living people Category:People from West Hartford, Connecticut Category:UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Category:California Democrats Category:People associated with Munger, Tolles & Olson Category:Hall High School (Connecticut) alumni Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Delta Upsilon members