Government Experience

As a Washington, DC-based firm, Steptoe has a long tradition of public service with a substantial number of our attorneys in former high-level government positions.  This experience enables us to provide unique insight into the political, regulatory, and legislative processes as well as intimate familiarity with all regulatory bodies and government departments affecting businesses and not-for-profit entities.

We count among our current and former partners former Cabinet-level officials (including Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior, US Trade Representative), Senators and Congressmen, Commissioners of the Internal Revenue Service, Interstate Commerce Commission, and Federal Communications Commission, General Counsels of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the EEOC, and many senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Department of Interior, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Labor, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and other government agencies. A number of our attorneys have also worked in the White House and for several vice presidents. 

Our attorneys have served in various capacities in legislative and executive branches, including the following:

• Secretary of Defense
• Secretary of the Interior
• Chairman, US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  
• United States Senator
• Member of the House of Representatives
• Chairman, US Senate Committee on Energy and Commerce
• Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, Department of Commerce
• Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security
• Deputy US Trade Representative
• Chief of Staff at the Department of Interior
• Deputy General Counsel for the Department of Education
• Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice
• Commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission
• Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
• Judge for the US Patent & Trademark Office
• International Tax Counsel, Department of the Treasury Office of Tax Policy
• Deputy International Tax Counsel, Department of the Treasury Office of Tax Policy
• General Counsel for the Defense Intelligence Agency
• General Counsel for US Congress
• General Counsel for the National Security Agency
• General Counsel for the Department of Labor
• General Counsel for the US Trade Representative
• General Counsel for the Department of the Army
• General Counsel for the Commerce Department
• General Counsel to the Senate Banking Committee
• General Counsel, US House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  
• General Counsel for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
• Deputy General Counsel for Office of Special Representative in Europe (Paris)
• Director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center at the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Acting Deputy Director, Science Policy and Technology Transfer for the National Institutes of Health
• Deputy Director for the US Department of Justice, Office of Special Investigations
• Senior Foreign Policy Advisor, Office of Senate Majority Leader
• Senior National Security Advisor, Office of the Senate Majority Leader
  
• Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel to the Director for the National Institutes of Health
• Economic Advisor to the Director of Defense Mobilization
• Director of Minerals Management Service for the Department of the Interior
• Tax Counsel for the US Congress Senate Finance Committee
• Legislative Counsel for the US Congress Joint Committee on Taxation
• Special Counsel for the Department of Defense
• Special Counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Associate Tax Legislative Counsel for the US Department of the Treasury
• Associate General Counsel for the National Security Agency
• Associate General Counsel for the Interstate Commerce Commission
• Senior Counsel for the US Department of Commerce
• Assistant Legal Counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Deputy Assistant General Counsel for the Office of the Secretary, International Affairs Division
• Counsel for the Special Investigations Committee on Governmental Affairs
• Assistant Secretary for Import Administration at the Commerce Department
• Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Treasury
• Assistant Secretary for the Department of the Interior
• Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division at the US Department of Justice
• Senior Advisor for the Satellite & Radiocommunications Division at the Federal Communications Commission
• Associate Deputy Chief of Staff for the Department of the Interior
• Judicial Services Specialist for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Assistant Director for the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Assistant Director for the Federal Trade Commission
• Attorney Advisor for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporate Finance
• Import Compliance Specialist for the US Department of Commerce
• Assistant to the General Counsel for the Department of the Army
• Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior
• Deputy Undersecretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textile, Apparel, and Consumer Goods at the Department of Commerce
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Director, Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Competition
• Legal Advisor for the Department of State
• Special Assistant for Civil Rights at the Department of Defense
• Policy Analyst for the Office of Science and Technology
• Information Policy Analyst for the Office of Management and Budget
• Encryption Policy Analyst for the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Financial Analyst for the Bureau of Budget
• Analyst for the US Census Bureau
• Member of the US Delegation to the North Atlantic Council for the Department of State
• Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Special Assistant  to the Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs at the Food & Drug Administration
• Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff for the Department of the Treasury
• Special Assistant to the Deputy of Export Administration for the Department of Commerce
• Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General  for the Department of Justice
• Special Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary to the Economic Policy Council
• Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education
• Special Assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
• Senior Investigative Attorney for the International Trade Commission
• International Trade Negotiator for the Office of the Special Trade Representative
• Trade Specialist for the Department of Treasury
• Foreign Service Officer for the US Information Agency
• Patent Examiner for the Patent and Trademark Office
• Legal Advisor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Attorney-Advisor, US Tax Court
• Trial Attorney, US Department of Justice
• Attorney Advisor for the Central Intelligence Agency
• Assistant US Attorney for the Department of Justice
• Multiemployer Plan Representative on the Secretary of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council
• Counsel for Litigation for the Solicitor's Office Civil Rights Division, US Department of Labor
• Various positions with the staff of the United States Congress