Crowell & Moring Expands Environment & Natural Resources and Government Affairs Capabilities with Addition of EPA Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Byron Brown
Federal Regulatory Experience Will Help Clients Navigate Environmental Rulemaking Process
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that Byron R. Brown, the former deputy chief of staff for policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has joined the firm's Environment & Natural Resources (ENR) and Government Affairs groups as senior counsel. He possesses 17 years of Executive and Legislative Branch experience advising on environmental policy, including in policy and legal roles with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the House Committee on Natural Resources, and, earlier in his career, in the EPA Office of General Counsel.
"Byron offers a broad understanding of environmental policy on a national scale, both in his service at the EPA and on Capitol Hill," said Philip T. Inglima, chair of Crowell & Moring. "He will provide invaluable insight to clients navigating the federal environmental rulemaking process. We are excited to welcome Byron to the firm."
As EPA's deputy chief of staff for policy, Brown advised on regulatory reform, litigation, enforcement, and assisted in the management of EPA programs regarding the presidential transition. Brown served as the lead appointee for several EPA rulemakings, management initiatives, and permitting and regulatory reform task forces. Brown has also worked on the Trump administration's policy and in Congress on some of the major environment and natural resources and energy-related legislation, including the Clean Air Act, the Superfund law, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Freedom of Information Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. Brown was also involved in the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking and the Executive Branch's infrastructure initiative. He frequently represented the EPA administrator in meetings at the Justice Department on civil litigation and enforcement matters and with industry groups and other stakeholders on regulatory reform proposals.
"Byron was an early member of the current administration's senior policy team and helped craft EPA's agenda," said Elliott P. Laws, chair of the firm's ENR Group. "He was the senior appointee involved in developing EPA's reorganization and reform plans, helped prepare other appointees for their Senate confirmation hearings, and was a key member of the policy team formulating EPA's budget request and strategic plan. With his background in environmental policy making, the legislative process, and congressional oversight and investigations, Byron is a truly unique resource for clients seeking to understand EPA's thinking."
Before his most recent position at EPA, Brown served as senior counsel for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, working for Chairman and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). There, he focused on oversight and investigations as well as legislation and policy issues involving cleanup of contaminated sites, abandoned mines, disposal of hazardous waste, and recycling. Brown was the lead Republican Senate staffer who negotiated bipartisan legislation regulating the disposal of coal combustion residuals from power plants, which was enacted into law as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. His previous work experience also includes positions at the House Committee on Natural Resources, serving as director of oversight and investigations and senior counsel for Chairman and Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), where he led multiple investigations into energy and natural resource topics. Before this, Brown spent a decade at the Office of General Counsel at the EPA, including serving as an associate deputy general counsel and assistant general counsel. He has served as the lead EPA attorney in multiple court cases involving the Clean Air Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Brown also worked on chemical safety, climate change, and energy efficiency legislation as a fellow in the personal office of a U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
"Having worked with two of the critical energy and environmental policy committees in Congress, Byron is well-situated to anticipate future White House energy policy actions and decipher congressional energy legislative proposals for clients," said James G. Flood, chair of Crowell & Moring's Government Affairs Group.
"Crowell & Moring's Environment & Natural Resources and Government Affairs groups are very well-respected in the industry," Byron said. "I am honored to join this elite team of lawyers and policy advisors."
Brown earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa, his M.A. in journalism from the University of Iowa, and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire.
About Crowell & Moring's Environment & Natural Resources Group
Crowell & Moring's nationally recognized Environment & Natural Resources Group has more than three decades of experience successfully representing clients across the United States in all forums, including federal and state courts, agencies, and legislatures. Our lawyers and policy advisors are nationally acclaimed in air and water quality, civil and criminal environmental litigation, environmental tort litigation and trial, land use, toxic substances, chemical regulation, and site clean-up and reclamation matters.
About Crowell & Moring's Government Affairs Group
Crowell & Moring's Government Affairs Group offers a highly experienced team of former Congressional staffers, including for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), as well as Executive Branch officials, who bring a unique combination of strategic thinking, access, public policy, and legal experience to the table. This bipartisan group delivers high-level advocacy and policy development services to firm clients seeking government relations, crisis management, media relations, and related assistance before Congress, the White House, and agencies of the Executive Branch. Through its experience, relationships, and knowledge, the group has concentrated its efforts in the areas of health care, energy, and financial services.
About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.
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