B. Todd Jones, who was U.S. attorney in Minnesota during the last years of the Clinton administration, was nominated Thursday to return to the job by President Obama.

Jones was recommended for the position in March by Sen. Amy Klobuchar after his name rose to the top among members of a bipartisan advisory committee she had created. Klobuchar was Hennepin County attorney for much of the time Jones last served as U.S. attorney.

"I'm looking forward to going back and continuing the work that was happening at the end of the Clinton administration," said Jones, who has been in private practice for the past eight years.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Jones, 52, will take over an office that has only recently moved past the controversial tenure of Rachel Paulose. She served a little less than two years before resigning in late 2007 after several managers quit over her management style.

The office has been led in the interim by acting U.S. Attorney Frank Magill, who won praise from Klobuchar and Jones for his work.

The "difficult times" the office went through is now nearly two years removed, Jones said. "Magill is a professional and he's done an outstanding job," he said. "We are really looking at moving forward. ... I don't look at a lot of immediate changes. ... It's a great office and there are some really great lawyers there. There are lots of good things to be accomplished and lots of work to be done."

Although he said he's thought about plans for the office, "it's not anything I want to disclose as long as I'm a nominee and not confirmed by the United States Senate," he said. Jones said he's scheduled to meet with the Attorney General next week.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1983, Jones spent six years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an officer, prosecutor, defense attorney and judge advocate. He was called back to active duty for the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

He practiced law and served as a federal prosecutor before he was tapped by President Bill Clinton in 1998 to succeed David Lillehaug as U.S. attorney. He was the first black to hold that position in Minnesota. Since 2001, he has been a partner at Robbins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi.

Members of Klobuchar's advisory panel were "most impressed with his breadth of experience, his passion for the job and his solid moral and ethical compass," said Lucinda Jesson, a Hamline University law professor who chaired the group.

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