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Fred J. Clark
Vice President and General Counsel
Mr. Clark brings the benefit of twenty years of legislative and
legal experience in federal and state government and in the private
sector to Cornerstone Government Affairs. During that time, he has
earned a reputation as one of Washington’s most skilled legislative
lawyers in the areas of federal agriculture programs and policy,
commodity futures, and finance.
Prior to joining Cornerstone, Mr. Clark helped to successfully
establish and build a practice of representing clients with
interests in domestic legislative and regulatory matters. His
insight and experience was key to the achievement of clients’ goals
in a wide array of policy and legislative areas.
As President of his own Washington law firm for five years, Mr.
Clark provided legislative drafting, legal representation, strategic
planning, and analytical services for clients with interests in
various agriculture trade and commodity programs. His representation
of one of the largest futures exchanges in the United States, of a
major farm commodity organization, and of a $25 billion cooperative
bank, have also given him extensive experience in complex financial
regulatory matters.
Prior to establishing his law practice, Mr. Clark served for eight
years on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Agriculture. He served for five years as committee Counsel, and
participated extensively in the writing of both the 1985 and 1990
omnibus farm bills, as well as other legislation.
As Counsel to the Committee, Mr. Clark managed the legal staff and
was the principal draftsman of bills considered by the Committee. He
worked closely with the Committee Chairman and Members in every
aspect of the legislative process, and became a recognized expert in
legislative drafting. Also, as the Committee parliamentarian, Mr.
Clark gained an intimate knowledge of the rules of the House and
Senate.
Upon arriving in Washington in 1983, Mr. Clark served in the office
of a member of the House of Representatives, where he was
responsible for legislative activities on the Committee on Banking,
Finance, and Urban Affairs.
Prior to his experience in Washington, Mr. Clark was selected from
over 300 applicants to participate in the California’s Legislature’s
Assembly Fellowship Program. As a staff member in the California
Legislature in 1981 and 1982, he worked on issues before the Select
Committee on Energy Alternatives in Agriculture, including a series
of bills affecting small energy production and the federal Public
Utilities Regulatory Policies Act.
Mr. Clark earned a law degree from the Georgetown University Law
Center, after graduating magna cum laude from California Polytechnic
State University at San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Agriculture
Business Management. He has been admitted to practice law in the
District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
fclark@cgagroup.com
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