Department Chair
William E. Moschella

William E. Moschella

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Background

As co-chair of the firm's Government Relations Department, Will Moschella leverages his experience in the Justice Department and Congress to counsel clients on a range of matters, including antitrust, financial services, legal reform, intellectual property and criminal law.

Will served at the Justice Department as principal associate deputy attorney general and as assistant attorney general in the Office of Legislative Affairs. In Congress, Will served on the House Judiciary Committee as chief oversight counsel, chief legislative counsel and parliamentarian. He was involved in numerous high-profile legislative efforts, including the enactment of the Patriot Act, Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, and Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act.

On behalf of his clients, Will has testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee and acted as the spokesperson for an association whose members were the subject of an investigative report by a major television news network. 

In 2008, Will received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service, the highest award that can be bestowed on a Justice Department official.

 

Representative Matters

Recent Experience

  • Represented the Mexican Embassy on an international Treaty matter.

  • Counsel to a major sports league on a copyright piracy matter.

  • Represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, the nation’s preeminent legal reform organization.

  • Faced with intense Congressional scrutiny, Brownstein worked with our client to develop congressional messaging, engage in meetings in the United States Senate, and prepare for a high profile congressional hearing, ultimately mitigating Congressional concerns.

  • Brownstein team for a major corporate client during a very intense period of crisis management when the company was under scrutiny from the Congress, including Hill outreach and extensive hearing preparation. This resulted in two successful hearings on Capitol Hill.

  • Counsel to the MusicFirst Coalition on a copyright

  • Represents several gaming entities regarding federal gambling policy.

  • Preserving consumer access to, and reducing incidents of abuse of, common ingredients in over-the-counter allergy and cold medications.

  • Represent the Electronic Payments Coalition, a coalition of electronic services companies concerned about regulation of the electronic payments market.

  • On behalf of a national legal reform organization of Fortune 500 companies and civil defense firms, advocate for amendments to the federal rules of civil procedure to reduce the cost and burdens of civil discovery.

  • On behalf of an association representing private insurance services, Brownstein successfully managed Congressional passage of a federal insurance program reauthorization. This reauthorization was the first in 12 years.

  • Successfully lobbied the NY Governors Office and state legislature to defeat a proposed budget measure that called for the revocation of a foreign tax credit treaty exemption. The measure would have raised billions by imposing a double tax on global companies paying taxation abroad with countries under an existing treaty.

  • On behalf of a major real estate client, worked through an industry group to pass bipartisan tax legislation in the United States Senate.

  • Led the Coalition for Patient Safety and Medicine Integrity, a group of pharmaceutical, medical device and medical products companies, in developing the substance and strategy for passage of the SAFE DOSES Act, which modernized the criminal code to increase penalties for medical product cargo theft and provide law enforcement tools to deter and prosecute this criminal activity. At a time known for partisan gridlock in Congress, our Brownstein team successfully devised solutions for overcoming legislative paralysis, resulting in one of the few new laws enacted by the 112th Congress.

  • Engaged Congress and the Department of Justice in forming a relationship with one of the largest non-profits in the United States focused on girl’s and women’s issues. Collaboration yielded the successful development and funding of three programs at the Department of Justice, focused on serving girls in non-traditional settings.

  • Served as the independent examiner charged with reviewing a component of an agreement between the State Attorneys General and a prominent Internet social networking company.

  • Brownstein successfully advocated against AT&T’s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile for an informal coalition of companies seeking to preserve a competitive mobile wireless marketplace.

  • Brownstein, along with a coalition of businesses, successfully convinced Congress to pass legislation granting a five-year carryback for net operating losses. This provision helped Fortune 50 companies to redirect billions of dollars for investment and job creation.

Insights & Publications

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 1995, George Mason University School of Law
  • B.A., 1990, University of Virginia

Previous Experience

Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice

Chief Legislative Counsel and Parliamentarian, House Committee on the Judiciary

 

Admissions

  • Virginia, 1996
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Recognition

AWARDS:

Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service, Department of Justice, 2008

Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the position of Assistant Attorney General, Legislative Affairs, May 2003