Oct 23, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Marten Law Expands Regulatory Practice in Seattle

Marten Law, a national leader in energy and environmental law, today announced the addition of two senior-level regulatory experts from Washington, D.C.

Former White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) senior lawyer Jonathan Rackoff joins Marten’s Seattle office as a partner. An experienced litigator and veteran crisis manager, Rackoff will lead Marten’s growing Regulatory and Government Investigations practice. Joining his team is Nathan Frey, a non-lawyer consultant to Fortune 100 companies and industry trade groups and globally recognized authority on regulatory policy who advised the administration of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Rackoff comes to Marten Law with nearly two decades of diverse regulatory experience and a background in energy and environmental law and policy. As senior counsel on the legal leadership team at EPA, Rackoff served as the agency’s chief oversight and crisis-response lawyer nationwide, defending nearly 100 high-stakes investigations. He also supervised regulatory negotiations between EPA and the White House. Before that, as counsel to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Rackoff oversaw legal implementation of former President Obama’s regulatory agenda, spanning over 2,400 significant regulatory actions by 32 federal agencies, as well as privacy, IP enforcement, and cybersecurity issues. Since leaving government, Rackoff has been serving as the general counsel of two biotechnology startups.

“Jonathan brings our clients broad experience in regulatory law at the national level,” said Brad Marten, managing partner. “Through a decade of public service, he has gained invaluable insights on how federal enforcers think and is widely respected by his colleagues at EPA, the Department of Transportation, and the Food and Drug Administration.”

With his multi-faceted government and private-sector experience, Rackoff will provide counseling on compliance and internal investigations, defending government enforcement, responding to congressional and state attorney general oversight and challenging complex regulatory schemes in court.

Rackoff earned his Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College, and his Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School, where he served as an articles editor of the Stanford Law Review. He clerked both on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Nathan Frey will serve as a policy advisor and consultant for Marten Law, assisting clients in regulatory and policy issues at the local, state, national and international level and providing guidance and direction on regulatory advocacy.

Frey leads the Regulatory Strategies and Solutions (RSS) Group, which develops and implements regulatory risk management strategies for Fortune 100 companies, industry trade associations and prospective emerging market entrants. Prior to founding RSS, Frey served in OIRA for nearly a decade, leading the Obama administration’s policy vetting of over 200 nationally significant rulemakings by EPA, the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and others – 60 of which had over $100 million in annual economic costs.

“I’m excited to combine forces with Marten Law,” said Frey. “The firm’s known across the nation for its superb environmental bench and diverse client roster, which includes big tech companies – this benefits my practice and makes for a talented cross-functional team.”

Frey contributes in-depth knowledge of how new rules are developed and implemented, and his technical expertise in cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment will complement Marten Law’s knowledge base to enable powerful, science-based advocacy.

Frey holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Lewis & Clark College, and a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Nathan Frey will be providing his services through RSS Group, his wholly owned consulting company.

ABOUT MARTEN LAW

Marten Law is a leader in environmental, natural resource and energy law. Unlike general practice firms, Marten Law focuses on one practice area, representing clients in some of their most challenging energy and environmental matters nationally. The firm’s team of lawyers include recognized authorities in siting energy facilities, regulation and litigation arising under the environmental laws, resolving enforcement actions, air quality, hazardous and solid waste matters, water resources and water quality matters, fisheries, environmental review and a host of other environmental and energy issues.