WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, today announced that former U.S. Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) has joined its Government and Regulatory Policy Division as a senior advisor. Maffei will work with clients out of the firm’s Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Albany, NY, offices.
Previously Maffei represented the 25th District of New York in the House of Representatives, serving on the Financial Services and Judiciary Committees. Before serving as an elected member of Congress, Maffei worked for ten years (from 1995-2005) in staff positions for Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ), the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), and the House Ways and Means Committee’s Democratic Staff. From mid-2005 until his election to Congress in 2008, Maffei worked in Syracuse, New York, first as an independent consultant and then as a senior vice president at Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC. Early in his career, Maffei was an on-air broadcast journalist, reporting for two local television stations in upstate New York.
“Dan is a tremendous addition – he has seen every aspect of government as a senior aide and later as a member of Congress, but also as a journalist looking critically at the whole enterprise,” said George David Kieffer, chair of Manatt’s Government and Regulatory Policy Division. “He understands the details and procedures like a senior staffer but, as a former congressman, he also understands through his experience the political forces that impact our clients on a daily basis. That type of strategic counsel is invaluable to our clients.”
As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Maffei served as an influential member of the powerful House Financial Services Committee and as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. In both positions, Maffei leveraged his years of staff experience and contacts to shape numerous pieces of legislation, including playing a key role in shaping several sections of The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, also known as Dodd-Frank. After the government-negotiated bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors, Maffei successfully led efforts to safeguard the legal rights of auto dealers across the nation. As a crucial swing vote on health care reform, Maffei led a coalition of members that successfully cut in half the proposed tax on medical device manufacturers. Additionally, on behalf of New York hospitals and their patients, Maffei made sure that the Medicaid formula fixes they needed were incorporated into the final agreement.
“Dan knows and has worked closely with key Obama Administration officials, senior New York state legislators, U.S. senators, and nationally known journalists. His insights into how high-level decisions are made are valuable to our clients as they formulate their strategies for the future,” said James Bonham, chair of Manatt’s Federal Government Affairs and Public Policy Practice. “But the fact that he still resides in upstate New York and understands the perspective of citizens, businesses, and organizations outside the Beltway is also a huge asset for our clients in a world where grassroots support is key.”
“Dan can translate Washington and Albany decision-making into something understandable to the outside world,” said James Lytle, administrative partner of Manatt’s Albany, NY, office. “He also has worked with issues on the federal, state, and local levels, so he can speak to the new reality of multilayered policy making.”
Maffei joins an impressive national Government and Regulatory group, with professionals who develop, advocate, and implement integrated business, legal, and government strategies and activities in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York City, Sacramento, and Albany. Members of the practice have served in leadership positions as United States ambassadors; presidential appointees; senior career federal and state government officials; senior congressional staff; state legislators, leaders, and staff; as well as positions in city and county governments.
Maffei earned a bachelors degree from Brown University and masters degrees from both Columbia and Harvard. He has been a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Third Way, a moderate think tank, and will be a part-time visiting professor at the State University of New York School of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in the fall term.
About Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is one of the nation's leading law firms, with offices strategically located in California (Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Sacramento), New York (New York City and Albany) and Washington, DC. The firm represents a sophisticated client base – including Fortune 500, middle-market, and emerging companies – across a range of practice areas and industry sectors. For more information, visit www.manatt.com.