Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Thomas M. Boyd has joined the firm as a partner and co-chair of the Legislative and Government Affairs Practice in the Washington, DC office. Mr. Boyd has held several high-ranking government positions, including Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 1987 to 1989 under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. In 1989, he was named to head the DOJ’s Office of Policy Development (now called Office of Legal Policy) until 1991.

Mr. Boyd counsels and represents clients on privacy, financial services, electronic commerce, and other legislative and related regulatory issues. Among his clients are financial service companies, such as banks, credit card issuers, insurance companies, online broker dealers, and other companies engaged in electronic commerce. He advises clients on public policy matters before Congress and the Executive Branch, and he helps guide them through the increasingly complex regulatory obligations associated with privacy compliance. Mr. Boyd also serves as counsel to the National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy, an organization of a dozen name-brand companies and associations formed in 2000 to support the enactment of consistent state and federal laws that support the growth of electronic commerce in a way that achieves a reasonable and practical balance between the legitimate privacy interests of both business and consumers. In addition, Mr. Boyd served a three-year term from 2007 to 2010 as a member of the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, appointed by and reporting to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

“Tom has a sterling reputation, and he is very respected by people inside the beltway as well as by his clients. We look forward to drawing upon his knowledge and wisdom in the public policy and regulatory spaces,” said The Honorable Mark L. Pryor, co-chair of Venable’s Legislative and Government Affairs Practice.

Commenting on his move to Venable, Mr. Boyd said, “Venable has a healthy sense of self born of tremendous achievement in the legal community, and it has an intensely collaborative and interactive culture that sets it apart from many of its contemporaries. I look forward to being a part of it.”

Mr. Boyd has published more than 50 legal, political, and creative commentaries in a range of national publications, including law reviews, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, and The Boston Globe. He also has a Wikipedia page.

Mr. Boyd received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1971 and his B.A. in History from the Virginia Military Institute in 1968.