Baum's Lawyer, a Veteran of Clinton Probes

The New York Law Journal is reporting that the lawyer retained by Eliot Spitzer’s top aide, Rich Baum, is Steven F. Reich.

Reich is a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Philips, LLP, which currently employs Spitzer’s onetime electoral opponent John Faso.

According to the Law Journal, Reich will represent Baum before the two groups currently investigating Spitzer’s office, the state Ethics Commission and the Albany District Attorney’s office.

A source in the administration confirmed Reich was hired by Baum, and said it will be paid for by Baum personally.

A woman who answered the phone at Reich’s Manhattan office just now said, “I have no comment,” and Reich’s voicemail said he was traveling on business for the next two days.

According to his company bio, Reich “specializes in white collar criminal and complex civil litigation matters.”

Before joining Manatt, Reich worked as Senior Associate Counsel to President Bill and “supervised the legal team that responded to investigations conducted by independent counsels, federal prosecutors and congressional committees; devised and implemented political and legal strategies for dealing with those investigations; and represented high-level government officials during depositions, grand jury proceedings and congressional testimony.”