Former Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel Rejoins Dechert

Dechert LLP announced today that Steven Engel has rejoined the firm after completing his service at the Department of Justice as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Mr. Engel returns to the Litigation practice as a partner in the Washington, D.C. and New York offices, where he will represent clients in a broad range of trial, white collar, regulatory, and appellate matters.

Andrew Levander, Chair of Dechert’s Policy Committee, commented: “We are very excited to welcome Steve back to Dechert. He is an exceptionally talented lawyer and a wonderful colleague. Our clients will benefit from his keen intellect and his strong business acumen, and his recent experience at the Department of Justice will provide critical perspective on regulatory and investigatory developments.”

Until recently, Mr. Engel served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. As the head of the Office, Mr. Engel served as the chief counsel to the Attorney General and the principal legal adviser to the Executive Branch, providing legal advice to the President and cabinet secretaries on the most critical constitutional and statutory questions, including matters pertaining to national security, administrative law, criminal law, congressional oversight, and executive orders. Former heads of the office have included Supreme Court justices, Attorneys General, and Solicitors General, among many other leaders of the profession. In recognition of outstanding service to the Department, Mr. Engel was awarded the Department’s highest honor, the Edmund J. Randolph Award, in December 2020.

Prior to his appointment as Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Engel was a partner at Dechert from 2009 to 2017, where he appeared in courts across the country, handling a wide range of civil litigation matters, including in the areas of administrative law, commercial litigation and securities law. Before joining Dechert in 2009, he served as deputy assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. An experienced trial and appellate litigator, Mr. Engel clerked on the U.S. Supreme Court for Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for Judge Alex Kozinski. Mr. Engel received his J.D. from the Yale Law School, his M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge and his A.B. from Harvard College.

Mr. Engel commented: “I’m delighted to return to Dechert – a firm I called home for many years. Dechert is really a terrific place to practice law, and I look forward to working again with my friends and colleagues and drawing upon my DOJ experience in advising our clients on their most challenging legal issues.”

Dechert’s global litigation practice is comprised of more than 350 lawyers across 21 offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, combining the knowledge and expertise of former government officials and law clerks, top litigators from top-ranked firms, and amazing homegrown talent.

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Dechert is a leading global law firm with 24 offices around the world. We advise on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.