Washington, D.C. 6/14/01 --- Former U.S. Senator Birch Bayh joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Venable Baetjer Howard & Civiletti as a partner, enhancing the firm's growing public policy advocacy practice.
Senator Bayh served for three terms in the U.S. Senate from 1963 until 1981. He is the only Senator in modern times to have authored two amendments to the U.S. Constitution: the Twenty-Fifth Amendment on Presidential and Vice Presidential succession, and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowering the voting age to 18 years of age. Senator Bayh is also the author of Title IX to the Higher Education Act, which mandates equal opportunities for women students and faculty, co-author of the Bayh-Dole Act, which revitalized the nation's patent system, and chief architect of the Juvenile Justice Act.
"Birch Bayh is an American institution, who brings to us his esteemed work as a legislator and advocate in all the diverse arenas of public policy. As a fair and impassioned champion of individual and institutional rights, he enjoys the respect and confidence of all those across the political spectrum. I have worked with Birch in and out of government service, and am pleased to now call him my partner," says Benjamin Civiletti.
The addition of Senator Bayh marks the latest in a series of moves designed to develop Venable's public affairs practice. In recent months, the firm has attracted former Assistant House Majority Whip James E. Rogan, top Democratic Party leader, Thomas H. Quinn, and Patrick E. O'Donnell, a senior member of Republican Administrations since 1968.
During his career in the Senate, Senator Bayh served on the Judiciary Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the Environment and Public Works Committee. He chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, the National Alcohol Fuels Commission, and the Office of Technology Assessment Study on the Patent System.
Since returning to the practice of law in 1980, Senator Bayh has represented a wide array of clients from the private and public sectors, helping them to articulate their concerns before Congress and all branches and agencies of the federal government. And, he has continued his work on behalf of his long-held passions in the areas of education, citizen and corporate rights, and the fight against bias and racism in America. He serves on the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and over the years has served as chairman of the AMTRAK Labor/Management Productivity Council; the Mental Health Association's National Commission on the Insanity Defense; the University of Virginia Commission on Presidential Disability & the Twenty-Fifth Amendment; and, the National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence.
Also joining Venable is Kevin Faley, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. Mr. Faley served as Chief Counsel and Executive Director and General Counsel, United States Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution and Counsel, Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. In those capacities, he drafted legislation and committee reports, organized committee investigations and hearings, and developed legislative strategies. Mr. Faley previously served as a law clerk to Justice Roger O. DeBruler of the Indiana Supreme Court.
One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia. For more, visit www.Venable.com.