(WASHINGTON, D.C.) April 6, 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP has announced that Steven Jay Shimberg, one of the nations leading experts in environmental law and policy, has joined the firms Government Affairs practice group as Of Counsel. Shimberg was formerly a member of the senior management team at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Steve brings to the firm tremendous experience concerning the statutes and regulations that govern many of our clients business initiatives,†said Thomas F. ONeil III, joint global leader of the firms Legislative and Regulatory practice group. “With more than 26 years of practical experience in federal agencies and as counsel to a leading Senate committee, he will add an important dimension to our first-rate environmental practice.
“Steve will be able to advocate for clients before federal and state officials and provide counsel in such areas of growing concern as climate change and air policy issues,”added O’Neil.
For the last three years, Shimberg has helped lead the EPAs national and regional enforcement and compliance programs as Associate Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in Washington, D.C. He was appointed to that position by then-Administrator Christie Todd Whitman.
Before holding that post, Shimberg served for four years as Vice President for Federal and International Affairs at the National Wildlife Federation, the nations largest member supported conservation education and advocacy organization.
From 1981 to 1997, Shimberg held various increasingly important posts at the U.S. Senate, including six years as Republican staff director and chief counsel.
During his nearly 17-year tenure as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the committees late chairman, Senator John H. Chafee (R-RI), Shimberg played an integral role in the enactment of virtually every major environmental law. These included the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996; Surface Transportation Act of 1991; Clean Air Act of 1990; Oil Pollution Act of 1990; Endangered Species Acts of 1982 and 1988; Clean Water Acts of 1981 and 1987; Superfund amendments of 1986; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act amendments of 1984; and Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982. He also played a key role in the international negotiation and Senate approval of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1988 and the 1990 London amendments to the Protocol.
Shimberg began his career as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division, where he handled both civil and criminal cases.
He earned a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1978 and a B.A. from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975.
About DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP is a business law firm of 1,350 lawyers in offices throughout the US, whose core practices are corporate and securities, litigation, real estate, intellectual property and government affairs. Worldwide, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has 2,800 lawyers in 49 offices in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and Asia, offering leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.
In the U.S., DLA Pipers Government Affairs practice group includes two former congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, and House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey, as well as former Michigan governor and U.S. ambassador to Canada Jim Blanchard. Leading the Government Affairs group is Thomas F. O’Neil III, former senior vice president and general counsel of the MCI Group and a former federal prosecutor and legislative assistant to a congressman. Other recent additions to the firm’s Government Affairs practice include John Veroneau, former general counsel to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn.
Government Affairs lawyers and professionals practice before Congress; federal and state regulatory agencies (including the FTC, FCC, FERC, EPA, DOT, FAA); executive branch departments (including the Departments of Defense, Justice, Treasury, State, Commerce, and Energy); and courts of general and specialized jurisdiction.
The firms alliance with The Cohen Group, an international strategic business consulting firm, offers a further range of legal and business intelligence and consulting services. The group includes former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former Supreme Allied Commander and General Joseph Ralston, and former secretary general of NATO and former U.K. minister of defense, Lord George Robertson, who serves as The Cohen Groups senior counselor based in London. More information about DLA Piper is available at www.dlapiper.com.
