Former EPA, DOJ Senior Official Ethan Shenkman Joins Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
WASHINGTON, DC, March 22, 2017—Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP announced today that Ethan Shenkman, former Deputy General Counsel at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has joined the firm's Environmental practice as a partner, resident in Washington, DC. A political appointee in the Obama Administration since 2010, Mr. Shenkman served first as Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) from 2010–2014, and then as Deputy General Counsel at the EPA from 2014–2017. Before joining the Administration, Mr. Shenkman was a litigation partner in private practice.
During his post as Deputy General Counsel at the EPA, he oversaw the agency's legal and regulatory work pertaining to a wide range of issues. He was responsible for Clean Air Act regulations and litigation, cross-cutting administrative law issues, international environmental law, and Native American tribal affairs. He also provided counsel for numerous key administration initiatives related to greenhouse gas pollution and climate change, international environmental agreements, free trade agreements and investment treaties, and tribal treaty rights.
Prior to his tenure at the EPA, Mr. Shenkman served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ, where he was responsible for managing a broad spectrum of litigation and policy initiatives. Among other things, he supervised the Appellate Section, which handles appellate and Supreme Court cases across environment and natural resources law, and the Indian Resources Section. Mr. Shenkman also provided legal advice to federal agencies on environment and natural resources matters, ranging from NEPA to infrastructure and energy development. Over his 16 years of government service (including his prior tenure as a career attorney at the DOJ), he has argued dozens of precedent-setting cases and received numerous achievement awards for his service.
Brian Israel, head of the firm's Environmental practice group, commented: "Ethan is a skilled lawyer and litigator with extensive experience at the EPA and DOJ. His deep legal knowledge and keen understanding of federal environmental law and regulation further expand our capabilities and will result in immediate benefit to our clients."
In joining the firm, Mr. Shenkman said: "I look forward to being part of the Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer environmental team. The firm's ability to successfully guide clients through the maze of regulations facing companies today, while providing environmental insight across all industries, make it the ideal location for my return to private practice."
Mr. Shenkman earned his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Virginia Law Review, elected to the Order of the Coif, and a Hardy Cross Dillard Scholar. He received his BA, summa cum laude, from Yale University. Mr. Shenkman served as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General, following his clerkship with Judge Paul V. Niemeyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
About Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
With nearly 1,000 lawyers practicing in 13 offices around the globe, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP serves clients across 40 distinct practice areas. The combined firm, which draws upon the legacies of both Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer, brings together 100 years of renowned regulatory expertise, sophisticated litigation and transactional practices, and leading multidisciplinary offerings in the life sciences and financial services industries.
