Neil Barofsky is overseeing historic change within one of the country’s largest labor unions. 

Barofsky, 52, a partner at law firm Jenner & Block, in May 2021 was named as the independent monitor over the corruption-plagued UAW. A year and a half into his six-year tenure, he’s been quick to admonish union leadership over failures to adhere to a federal consent decree and provided steady guidance over a first-of-its-kind election. 

To date, Barofsky has issued three reports on the union’s progress and has not been afraid to draw attention to problems. The most recent, in July, described a monthslong effort by the UAW to obstruct and interfere with investigations, allegedly by concealing evidence and excluding the monitor’s office from key International Executive Board meetings.

Barofsky’s office also was charged with overseeing the union’s first one-member, one-vote election that was implemented as a condition of its consent decree. 

A handful of candidates are vying for the UAW’s top position in a process Barofsky has vowed would be fair and secure. Voting was scheduled to conclude this week.

Barofsky, who has largely worked behind the scenes and stayed out of the spotlight, has plenty of experience in high-profile situations. 

He previously oversaw Credit Suisse Securities and Credit Suisse AG following billion-dollar government settlements. He also was a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office in New York City and inspector general for the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program after the Great Recession.