District of Columbia Life Fellow Thomas M. Susman
March 11, 2008, Fellows in the news
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION NAMES THOMAS M. SUSMAN DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICE
CHICAGO: March 11, 2008 – American Bar Association Executive Director Henry F. White announces the appointment of Washington, D.C. attorney Thomas M. Susman as ABA Director, Government Affairs Office effective May 5. Susman, who is leaving a 27-year legislative and regulatory practice with the law firm of Ropes & Gray, has been active in the ABA throughout his career.
"Tom Susman brings to this position a superb understanding of the ABA's values and ways of work, and a consummate commitment to the Association's goal of defending liberty and pursuing justice," said White. "His experience in the law, in government and in the ABA will serve him and the Association well."
"Leading the ABA's Government Affairs efforts enables me to return to full-time public interest and public service work," said Susman. "I know firsthand the array of issues on which the Association advocates, and how important they are to the profession as well as to all Americans and to others around the world struggling to secure rights under the rule of law."
Susman joined Ropes & Gray in 1981 and handled legislative matters on behalf of clients that include a variety of industries, trade associations and nonprofit organizations. His legislative practice has involved work in homeland security, energy, tax code amendments, regulatory reform, intellectual property protection, environmental protection, access to government information, Native American issues and antitrust law reform.
Susman's regulatory practice has included work in a wide range of issues including freedom of information and privacy, health care, energy efficiency, antitrust, maritime safety and regulation of organ procurement.
Before joining Ropes & Gray, Susman served on Capitol Hill for more than 11 years. He was chief counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure, and General Counsel to the Antitrust Subcommittee, and to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Within the ABA, Susman has been a member of the Association's policy-making body, the House of Delegates; has served as past chair of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section; and was a member of the ABA Board of Governors. Other civic activities include service as a trustee and chair of the National, as a member of the Board of the National Conference on Citizenship, and as president of the D.C. Public Library Foundation. He also teaches Lobbying and Legislative Process at the American University's Washington College of Law, has testified frequently before Congress and has consulted with the governments of Shanghai, China and Peru on open government and lobbying disclosure laws. Judicial College
Susman earned his undergraduate degree at Yale and his Juris Doctorate at the University of Texas Law School where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.
He has been admitted to the bars in Texas, Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts.
With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
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