Crowell & Moring Expands Government Affairs And Health Care Groups With Seasoned Bi-Partisan Lobbying Team

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Jan 12, 2015, 01:47 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the arrival of James G. Flood as a partner and W. Scott Douglas as a senior policy director to the firm's Government Affairs and Health Care groups. With strong government relations and legal experience, Flood is a former counsel to Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and will chair Crowell & Moring's Government Affairs Group, and Douglas is the former finance director for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The bi-partisan duo joins the firm from Omnicare, Inc., where Flood served as vice president, government affairs, and Douglas served as senior director, government affairs.

"Jim and Scott have a proven track record of working with companies and trade groups to develop and execute successful government relations and legal strategies at the federal and state level in the health care, financial services, and energy sectors. They will help bolster our Government Affairs Group and industry practices. As experienced public policy strategists and known advocates before Congress, their addition allows us to add a new dimension to an already robust regulatory team," said Angela B. Styles, chair of the firm's Executive Committee who served as a Senate-confirmed appointee at the Office of Management and Budget in the White House under the George W. Bush administration.

Arthur N. Lerner, partner and co-chair of the firm's Health Care Group remarked, "My co-chair John Brennan and I are very excited to bring Jim and Scott on board. Their experience in the health care industry is particularly valued as we assist clients with the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the vast array of other challenges faced by the industry in today's dynamic health care environment."

Flood's government relations practice will focus on the health care, energy, and financial services sectors. At the congressional level, he will assist clients both in policy matters and investigations. He will draw upon his prior experience to help clients solve problems and resolve issues before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal agencies. He will also work with the firm's Health Care Group and health care fraud practice team to assist clients on issues related to Medicare (including Part D), Medicaid, long-term care, pharmacy, and other industry sectors.

In the area of antitrust, Flood has advised and guided companies through public policy issues affecting mergers in the health care and technology sectors. In the energy sector, Flood has experience navigating renewable energy regulatory and policy matters, and he served as the outside general counsel for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

"Crowell & Moring has great lawyers and strategists, a strong national brand, and is known for its team culture and collaborative environment. This atmosphere, coupled with the firm's highly respected health care regulatory and fraud and abuse practice, made joining the firm the right choice. We are thrilled to be a part of this dynamic team and are eager to continue to grow the practice together," said Flood.

While at Omnicare, a Fortune 400 health care company with $6 billion annual revenue, Flood led the Government Affairs Department and oversaw the company's advocacy before Congress, HHS, CMS, DEA, key trade groups, and engaged with the White House on regulatory issues. Previously, Flood assisted clients at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, where he provided strategic government relations advice and legal counsel to Fortune 500 companies in the health care, financial services, and energy sectors. Prior to that, Flood served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. for DOJ, where he led federal and local criminal investigations of U.S. corporations and individuals, prosecuted federal white collar grand jury criminal investigations into health care fraud, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and government contracts fraud. He tried approximately 80 federal or local jury or bench trials during his time at DOJ. He served as president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2010. Flood earned his B.S. from Cornell University and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Douglas has experience working in highly diverse settings, including Fortune 500 companies and a contract lobbying firm. He ran multi-state lobbying operations, working directly with decision makers and overseeing external lobbyists. While at Omnicare, Douglas directed the state government affairs program across the company's entire 47-state operation, monitored developing legislation, developed and executed lobbying strategies, and worked on congressional matters. Prior to joining Omnicare, Douglas was a principal lobbyist at Capital Link Consultants, a leading Kentucky lobbying firm, and successfully represented clients from the health care, consumer finance, education, manufacturing, retail, insurance, and information technology sectors. During his seven years working for Senator McConnell, Douglas also served as the Kentucky campaign manager for Bush-Cheney 2000 and as the political director for Senator Jim Bunning. Douglas earned his B.A. from Eastern Kentucky University.

Crowell & Moring's Government Affairs Group is led by professionals who have worked on both sides of the political aisle, and who understand the motivations of and interactions between legislators and regulators at all levels of government. The firm's Health Care Group assists companies throughout the health care industry, including all of the top ten health insurers and many of the nation's leading health care providers, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers with a full scope of legal services including litigation, government investigations, regulatory compliance, business collaborations and acquisitions, and compliance with the ACA. Recent additions to the firm's Health Care Group include: Katherine Funk, former staff attorney in the Federal Trade Commission and co-chair of Baker & McKenzie's North America & Competition sub-group; Christine Clements, former Aetna Inc., chief Medicare counsel; and Troy Barsky, former director of the CMS Division of Technical Payment Policy.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 500 lawyers representing clients in high-stakes litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 and emerging companies as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service, diversity, value-based billing, and legal project management. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels. Visit Crowell & Moring online at www.crowell.com.

Contact: Kathryn Holmes Johnson
(202) 508-8916 [email protected]

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP