Top Political Advisor to Evan Bayh and Mario M. Cuomo Joins National Government Affairs Practice
WASHINGTON, DC – (November 2, 2006) – LAWFUEL – Law News Network – McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP announces that Richard S. Gordon, a long-time and respected figure in New York and national Democratic politics, has joined the firm as a Partner in the New York office effective today. Mr. Gordon is the most recent addition to the firm’s expansion of the New York offices and the national Government Affairs practice.
Mr. Gordon has extensive political experience, and has served numerous Democratic campaigns in policy and organizational capacities throughout his career. For five years, Mr. Gordon served as Director of Policy and Planning for Governor Evan Bayh of Indiana. He was the architect of the Governor’s major policy initiatives in education, workforce retraining, health care, welfare reform, and the environment, and in the development and implementation of the Governor’s national Democratic activities. Mr. Gordon previously served Governor Bayh as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, directed the Governor’s efforts during his chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association, and is currently a senior advisor to the All-American PAC, now chaired by Senator Bayh.
“Richard Gordon is a dear friend, a trusted and respected confidant and someone I have counted on throughout my political, governmental and personal life. The depth of his national experience and great insight on political and policy matters has been essential to me. For more than thirty years we have been friends and worked closely, first while I was governor and now while I am in the Senate, to make this country even better than it is and to provide greater opportunities to all Americans. Rich has dedicated his life to these causes. It is hard for me to put in words how much I appreciate all he has done for me and the people and beliefs that we both hold so dear. I have relied on him at every phase of my career, and I will continue to do so,” said Senator Bayh (D-IN).
Mr. Gordon served as the National Finance Chair for the Evan Bayh for Senate campaign and the Washington Transition Director for Senator-Elect Bayh, served on Vice President Mondale’s presidential campaign staff and was an aide to Senator Claude Pepper. He also was the Executive Director of the Friends of Mario M. Cuomo, helping to direct the Governor’s political activities throughout the state.
He has served on the staff of several Congressmen, and has worked on multiple Congressional campaigns. In 1992, Mr. Gordon was appointed a Clinton/Gore member of the Democratic Platform Committee. He is a member of the Chairman’s Board of the Democratic Governors Association, a position he has held since the board’s inception. As such, he has been an advisor and counselor to numerous governors across the nation.
“Richard Gordon has been one of the Democratic Governors Association’s strongest supporters dating back to the organization’s very first days, working tirelessly on behalf of our nation’s democratic governors. He has been of tremendous assistance to governors throughout the country. As chairman of the DGA, I am grateful for his dedicated service and leadership on the DGA Chairman’s Board, and his continued counsel and assistance,” said Governor Bill Richardson.
Prior to joining McKenna Long & Aldridge, Mr. Gordon held multiple leadership positions in the private sector, most recently as the founder of the Gordon Law Firm, a firm with a national practice located in New York. Before starting his practice, Mr. Gordon practiced law at some of the leading litigation and environmental firms in New York City. He was also the Executive Vice President of a leading publicly traded health care company and its related nursing home and medical managed care companies.
“I have been heavily involved in Democratic politics throughout my career, and have also worked extensively in the private sector, primarily in law and business. What compelled me to join McKenna Long & Aldridge’s national Government Affairs practice was its unique blend of government, politics, and business, as well as the opportunity for me to use my experience to help continue to evolve the government affairs practice and the firm,” said Richard Gordon.
“We are very pleased that Richard Gordon has decided to join our national Government Affairs practice. His significant experience in public policy, especially on a national level, will add further credibility to our reputation as a leading government affairs practice as we continue to expand and solidify our presence in New York and across the United States,” said former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin, a Clinton appointee, partner of McKenna Long & Aldridge and head of the Public Policy and International department.
Mr. Gordon is the latest addition to the firm’s national Government Affairs group that includes the former Clinton White House Director and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Marcia Hale and Keith Mason; Eric Tanenblatt, former chief of staff to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and advisor to the late U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA); Buddy Darden (D), former Georgia Representative to the Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; Randy Evans, who represents the current and former Speakers of the United States House of Representatives; and former U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA), as well as a recently established and fast-growing government affairs practice in New York, which joined the firm on June 1, 2006.
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
McKenna Long & Aldridge is an international law firm of more than 400 lawyers and public policy advisors with offices in Albany, Atlanta, Brussels, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The firm provides business solutions in the areas of corporate law, government contracts, intellectual property and technology, complex litigation, public policy and regulatory affairs, international law, real estate, environmental, energy and finance. To learn more about the firm and its services, log on to www.mckennalong.com.
National Government Affairs
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s Government Affairs team provides effective solutions and creates opportunities for clients seeking to impact government policy and decision-making or engage in business with governments on the federal, national, state, local and international levels. Our national practice extends to any jurisdiction in the United States. To learn more about the firm’s Government Affairs practice, log on to www.mckennalong.com.
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