Mr. Conner is a government affairs counselor in the Public Policy and Law practice group at K&L Gates, one of the largest policy groups in the United States. He has nearly 25 years of experience working with Congress and the executive branch, experience that he leverages to provide advice to clients on effectively managing their government and regulatory affairs, in particular helping clients by create alignment between their objectives and government policies.

15-20 years

Maritime
Assisting a major cruise shipping company obtain legislation permitting the company to operate U.S.-flag ships in coastwise service, creating thousands of American jobs and generating millions of dollars in economic activity.
Helping a major tanker operator obtain legislation permitting long-term participation in the Maritime Security Program for its U.S.-flag tankers.
Representing the largest U.S. maritime coalition in history in successfully defending the maritime cabotage laws.
Assisting a major cruise line obtain legal authority, through legislation and regulation, that permits increased flexibility in hiring of certain crew on board its U.S.-flag vessels.
Advising a major container shipping company and a major tank vessel operator regarding their U.S.-flag operations and related Department of Defense sealift capabilities.
Represented maritime clients in successfully persuading Congress to appropriate funding for the Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program.
Assisted in the development and enactment of a multi-year, multi-million dollar program for dual use military-commercial sealift capability with the U.S. Transportation Command.
Worked closely with maritime regulatory agency to obtain necessary approvals for the transfers of Maritime Security Program agreements to major container shipping company.
Advising a major ship classification society on various public policy matters.

Energy
Advising a U.S. offshore energy company on legislative and regulatory matters related to production of oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf of the U.S.
Counseling maritime companies and associations on impacts of increased crude oil and natural gas production in the U.S.
Assisted coalition in obtaining legislation permitting the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil.
Transportation
Assisted a major Class I railroad in obtaining approximately $4 million that was earmarked for the development and deployment of positive train control systems designed to improve safety and security, as well as productivity, for rail operations.
Counseling to major rail supplier regarding legislative and regulatory efforts to increase the use of technologies such as communications-based train control systems and electronically-controlled pneumatic braking systems.
Serving as primary outside government relations advisor to trailer manufacturing trade organization.

Fisheries
Helping a West Coast fisherman's association defeat legislative efforts to grant harvesting quota shares to fish processors and to obtain language regarding ongoing efforts to rationalize the fishery.
Representing a major conservation organization on efforts to improve fisheries management and conservation provisions, including specifically the implementation of catch share programs.
Assisting conservation interests in defeating legislative initiatives in appropriations and authorizing bills that could result in overfishing or overcapitalizing in U.S. fisheries.
Providing policy and political advice to fishermen and conservation organizations regarding fisheries management and conservation measures, including specifically measures contained in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Mr. Conner served as a staff assistant for the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the U.S. House of Representatives under its ranking member, Congressman Bob Davis (R-MI)

Mr. Conner's practice focuses on federal government relations, with a substantive focus on transportation (with a specialty in maritime), energy and resource management. He represents clients on a range of matters, including:

Matters relating to domestic and international shipping;
Programs relating to military sealift, including the Maritime Security Program;
Management of federal fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act;
Regulation of motor vehicles, including light and medium-duty trailers;
Policies relating to domestic energy, including specifically transportation of energy;Programs related to transportation infrastructure;
Issues involving port development and maritime security;
Development of international trade agreements and implementing legislation;
and Securing federal appropriations and federal program funding.

Mr. Conner has extensive legislative experience in general public policy analysis and planning, strategic counseling, and coalition management and coordination. He also assists clients in incorporating public policy into their strategic planning, integrating public relations into their legal and advocacy activities, and legislative drafting.

His principal representations include fishermen and other fishery stakeholders, cargo and passenger vessel operators, a ship classification society, transportation product manufacturers and service providers, energy companies, and a leading coalition of U.S. maritime interests.

He has worked with the Department of Transportation (including the office of the Secretary, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Maritime Administration), the Department of Commerce (specifically, the office of the Secretary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Marine Fisheries Service), the Department of Homeland Security (U.S. Coast Guard), and the Department of Defense.

Mr. Conner is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the International Propeller Club of the United States and is a past president of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the International Propeller Club.

Mr. Conner served as a staff assistant for the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the U.S. House of Representatives under its ranking member, Congressman Bob Davis (R-MI).

JEFFREY DENHAM

(Federal)

Jeff Denham is a government affairs counselor in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. A member of the public policy and law practice group, he brings significant transportation and infrastructure policy, agriculture, natural resources, and energy experience to the firm.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served four terms, from 2010 to 2018, representing California's 10th and formerly 19th districts. He was a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he was the chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. He was also a member of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Veterans' Affairs Committees. During his eight years in Congress, Mr. Denham helped draft dozens of bills that were subsequently signed into law, such as the 2012 Veterans Skills to Jobs Act; the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act; the 2018 ENLIST Act; and Stafford Act revisions as a part of the 2013 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act.

From 2001 to 2009, before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, he was a member of the California State Senate, representing the 12th District of California which encompassed the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus. He was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and Veterans' Affairs Committee and focused on issues that included education, government waste, agriculture, and economic development.

A Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force, he served in Operation Desert Storm with the 452nd Air Force Refueling Wing and was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, and various campaign medals for combat duty. Additionally, he served in Operation Restore Hope with the 349th AMW and was awarded a second Meritorious Service Medal and various campaign medals for duty.

Mr. Denham is the Founder of Denham Plastics LLC, a full-service provider of plastic material handling solutions, in addition to owning an almond farm in California.

CAROL MICHAELSEN

(Federal)
Clients:

1) ACCELERGY CORPORATION

2) AGC Flat Glass North America, Inc.

3) AIRPORT MINORITY ADVISORY COUNCIL

4) ALGAE BIOMASS ORGANIZATION

5) Alpha Technologies, Inc.

6) ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION LIMITED

7) AMERICAN BUREAU OF SHIPPING

8) American Bus Association

9) American Commercial Space Innovators

10) American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers

11) AMERICAN MARITIME PARTNERSHIP

12) AMERICAN PYROTECHNICS ASSOCIATION

13) American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier Group, Inc.

14) AMERICAN SECURITY ACTION FUND, INC.

15) AMERICAN SMALL MANUFACTURING COALITION

16) American Superconductor Corporation

17) American Tower Corporation

18) AMERICAN WATER

19) Animal Wellness Action

20) Ansys, Inc.

21) Apex Clean Energy

22) Armored Things Inc.

23) Association of Washington Business

24) Astranis Space Technologies Corp.

25) AT-SEA PROCESSORS ASSN

26) Audia International

27) AVIS-BUDGET GROUP, INC.

28) Axiom Space, Inc.

29) Berkshire Hathaway Energy

30) BLUE ORIGIN, LLC

31) BNSF RAILWAY CO.

32) Boeing Employees' Credit Union

33) Boulder Capital Partners OZB, LLC

34) Breville Pty, Ltd.

35) Brightline Holdings LLC f/k/a Virgin Trains USA LLC

36) BROWN-FORMAN CORP

37) BUSINESS LEADERS FOR MICHIGAN

38) ByteDance Inc.

39) California Public Employees' Retirement System

40) CALVERT VENTURES, LLC

41) Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority

42) Catalyst Old River Hydroelectric Limited Partnership

43) CERES, INC.

44) Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

45) Chembio Diagnostics, Inc.

46) CHSPSC, LLC

47) CHURCH ALLIANCE

48) CIGAR RIGHTS OF AMERICA

49) CITY LIGHT & POWER, INC.

50) Clark Street Associates LLC on behalf of PSIQuantum

51) Clark Street Associates on behalf of Bright Machines

52) Clark Street Associates on behalf of Lattice Semiconductor

53) Clark Street Associates on behalf of TruckLabs

54) Clark Street Associates on behalf of Western Digital

55) Clark Street on behalf of Qorvo

56) Cleco Power LLC

57) CMS ENERGY CORP.

58) Coalition for Energy Efficient Jobs & Investment

59) Columbia Sportswear

60) COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT FEDERATION

61) Commonwealth Fusion Systems LLC

62) Community Capital Management, LLC d/b/a CRAFund Advisory, Inc.

63) Compass Group USA, Inc.

64) Conservation International Foundation

65) CONSORTIUM OF STATE MARITIME ACADEMIES

66) Consumer Technology Association

67) Cumberland County Hospital System d/b/a Cape Fear Valley Health System

68) Cyanco International

69) Disability Benefits Deadline Initiative

70) DJI Technology, Inc.

71) Edelman Financial Engines f/k/a Financial Engines

72) ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE ACTION FUND

73) ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND

74) Equinix, Inc.

75) Financial Accounting Foundation

76) FinCom Ltd.

77) First Trust Portfolios L.P.

78) Fisher Investments

79) Fleet Energy America, Inc.

80) Forterra, Inc.

81) G.W. PEOPLES CONTRACTING CO. INC.

82) GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR CANNABIS COMMERCE

83) Gordon Food Service, Inc.

84) Great Elm Capital Group, Inc.

85) GREAT LAKES METRO CHAMBERS

86) Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce

87) GREATER SPOKANE INCORPORATED

88) GRIT Energy Services, LLC

89) Groundfish Forum

90) Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance

91) Hecla Mining Company

92) Hyundai Motor Company, Ltd.

93) Iconic Artists, LLC

94) Index Industry Association

95) Industrial Technology Institute

96) Ingo Money, Inc.

97) Inmarsat PLC d/b/a Inmarsat Aviation

98) INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER LESSORS

99) INSTITUTE OF SCRAP RECYCLING INDUSTRIES, INC.

100) Intelligrated Systems, Inc. dba Honeywell Intelligrated

101) INTERNATIONAL HOUSING COALITION

102) James Hardie Building Products, Inc.

103) John Lefas

104) Just Greens LLC

105) LAKE CARRIERS ASSOCIATION

106) LAKE PILOTS ASSN INC.

107) Launch on Demand Corporation

108) LEHIGH HANSON INC.

109) LIBERTY MEDIA CORPORATION

110) LOWER PASSAIC RIVER STUDY AREA COOP

111) Lynas USA, LLC

112) Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Inc.

113) MADE IN SPACE

114) MAGNOLIA LNG LLC

115) MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY, INC.

116) MATSON NAVIGATION

117) Maxar Technologies Holdings Inc. f/k/a SSL MDA Holdings

118) McDermott International, Inc. f/k/a CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON (CB&I)

119) Michael L. Taylor

120) Midwater Trawlers Cooperative

121) Moda Health

122) MUSEUM OF FLIGHT

123) NANOBUSINESS COMMERCIALIZATION ASSOCIATION

124) Nanotronics Imaging, Inc.

125) National Assn for Biomedical Research

126) NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN TRUSTEES (NACTT)

127) NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRAILER MANUFACTURERS

128) NCL CORPORATION LTD.

129) NextStep Interacative Inc.

130) Nortek Security & Control LLC

131) NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

132) Olympus Power LLC

133) Oshkosh Corporation

134) Pacific Seafood Group

135) PacifiCorp Energy

136) Package Coalition LLC

137) PAPER RECYCLING COALITION

138) Parsyl, Inc.

139) Pear Therapeutics, Inc.

140) Pinnacle Treatment Centers

141) PITNEY BOWES

142) PolyVision Corporation

143) Poplicus Incorporated d/b/a Govini

144) Port of Moses Lake

145) Port of Portland

146) PPG Industries Inc.

147) PRIMET PRECISION MATERIALS, INC.

148) PRN Software

149) Quantum Industry Coalition

150) Qurate Retail, Inc. f/k/a LIBERTY INTERACTIVE CORPORATION

151) QVC, INC.

152) R.T. G. Furniture Corp. d/b/a Rooms to Go

153) Receivables Management Association fka DBA INTERNATIONAL

154) RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

155) Resolve Marine Group, Inc.

156) Savion, LLC

157) Seastreak LLC

158) Sierra Pacific Industries

159) SIXTEEN THIRTY FUND

160) Spire Global, Inc.

161) SPOKANE AIRPORT BOARD

162) SPRAGUE ENERGY CORP.

163) ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY PILOTS ASSN.

164) STARBUCKS COFFEE CORP

165) STEELCASE, INC.

166) Strategic Vaccines, LLC

167) Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corporation

168) Suntory Business Expert Limited

169) Texas LNG

170) The ESOP Association

171) The First Church of Christ, Scientist

172) The World Dog Alliance Limited

173) TM3 Systems

174) Topical Bio Medics Inc.

175) TOWN OF FUQUAY-VARINA, NC

176) Tradebe Treatment and Recycling, LLC

177) Trans AstroNautica Corporation d/b/a TransAstra

178) Trans-Atlantic Business Council

179) TRANSPHORM INC.

180) TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE

181) TRI-CITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

182) TrueBlue, Inc.

183) Turing Inc.

184) U.S. Global Leadership Campaign

185) United Catcher Boats

186) United States Cannabis Council

187) Vanguard Charitable

188) Velocys Inc

189) Veolia Nuclear Solutions f/k/a Kurion

190) Viamedia, Inc.

191) Vitalant

192) VOX Space

193) WATER INNOVATIONS ALLIANCE

194) WATER INNOVATIONS FOUNDATION

195) WESTERN GREAT LAKES PILOTS ASSN

196) WESTON SOLUTIONS

197) XO Energy, LLC

198) Zapata Computing, Inc.

199) Zeno Power Systems, Inc.

GEORGE RICCARDO

(Federal)
  • 1601 K Street, NW12th FloorWashingtonDC20006