Brings more than 20 years of government, private practice, and private sector experience advising senior policy makers and resolving complex legislative, regulatory, and reputational challenges
Washington, DC (March 6, 2017) – Venable LLP announced today that Joshua H. Raymond has joined the firm's Legislative and Government Affairs Group as a partner in the Washington, DC office. Mr. Raymond was most recently the Executive Counsel of Government Affairs and Policy at General Electric (GE).
Mr. Raymond has more than 20 years of experience in the federal government, private practice, and the private sector advising senior policy makers and resolving complex legislative, regulatory, and reputational challenges for some of the country’s largest companies. At GE, he worked to address the regulatory and legislative challenges of the Dodd-Frank Act and helped to enact the first statutory language of its kind to allow an industrial company to own a finance company. He later helped GE through its designation and later de-designation as the first ever Systemically Important Financial Institution. He also secured several favorable rulings around first-impression regulatory issues and devised numerous large-scale high-profile legislative and public affairs initiatives.
"Josh has that truly unique blend of government and private sector experience that allows him to understand the viewpoints of competing stakeholders in a variety of industries," said former U.S. Senator Mark L. Pryor, Chair of Venable's Legislative and Government Affairs practice. "With a new administration and Congress promising an ambitious agenda of reform, our clients are looking to us to help them stay one step ahead of these changes and guide them through the obstacles and roadblocks they'll encounter along the way. With a deep knowledge of Capitol Hill and the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies, Josh is a welcome addition to our team, and we're excited to have him on board."
Mr. Raymond began his career as a policy and budget analyst with the White House Office of Management and Budget before moving to Capitol Hill, where he served as a staff member to Representative Darlene Hooley (D-OR), a member of the House Banking Committee, during the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. He then spent the next five years in private practice at Skadden Arps and DLA Piper, overseeing numerous legislative and regulatory efforts and representing clients in congressional investigations. From 2007 to 2009, he returned to Capitol Hill to serve as Chief of Staff to then Representative and current Senator Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT), where he hired and supervised over 20 legislative, communications, and district staffers, and built a reelection campaign resulting in a landslide victory.
Commenting on his move, Mr. Raymond said, "Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working closely with several Venable attorneys, and I know from first-hand experience what they bring to the table. Not only are they tireless advocates for their clients, they are among the top public policy minds in the industry. I’m thrilled to be joining this dynamic group and look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead."
At Venable, Mr. Raymond joins a bipartisan team that includes former U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), former Secretary of Transportation James H. Burnley, IV, former NHTSA Administrator David L. Strickland, and several veteran Capitol Hill and Executive Branch legislative staffers and policy advisors from both sides of the aisle. In addition, two attorneys from the Legislative group recently left the firm to join the Trump administration. Andrew Olmem has joined the White House National Economic Council as a Deputy to Gary Cohn and Special Assistant to the President for Financial Policy. Daris Meeks was named Deputy Assistant to the President and the Director of Domestic Policy for Vice President Mike Pence. Legislative group member Kevin Turner was also named Chief of Staff to Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL). National Law Journal named the group one of the top 20 lobbying firms in its most recent "Influence 50" rankings.
Mr. Raymond earned his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2002, his M.P.A. from Columbia University in 1997, and his B.A. from Boston University in 1993.
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Venable LLP is an American Lawyer Global 100 law firm headquartered in Washington, DC that serves as primary counsel to a worldwide clientele of large and mid-sized organizations, nonprofits, and high-net-worth entrepreneurs and individuals. With over 600 attorneys across the country, including California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Washington, DC, the firm strategically advances its clients' business objectives in the U.S. and around the globe. Venable advises clients on a broad range of business and regulatory law, legislative affairs, complex litigation, and the full range of intellectual property disciplines.