WASHINGTON, DC - Torridon Law PLLC, the law firm founded by former Attorney General William P. Barr and former Facebook General Counsel Ted Ullyot, proudly announces a major expansion as we welcome a team of outstanding lawyers—seasoned litigators and experienced counselors, led by our new partners former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and former Deputy White House Counsels Pat Philbin and Kate Todd.
This nationally recognized team further expands the broad experience of Torridon’s lawyers at the highest levels of government, in the corporate world, and in private practice. Torridon lawyers have served as general counsels of two Fortune 50 companies, as public-company board members, as partners in major law firms and a venture capital fund, and as head of the Litigation Center for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Our government experience includes serving as a Cabinet member, at senior levels of the White House and Department of Justice, as congressional counsel, and as senior attorneys in federal and state agencies. Members of the Torridon team have led organizations through complex and sensitive matters and crises of all kinds, including every facet of litigation; regulatory and legislative battles; major mergers and acquisitions; commercial and international disputes; government investigations and enforcement actions; and public-relations controversies.
“Ted and I are excited to expand Torridon’s capabilities to ensure that we can address clients’ needs across every facet of litigation, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, investigations, crisis management, and strategic counseling,” said former Attorney General Bill Barr. “We have known Pat Cipollone, Pat Philbin, and Kate Todd and worked with them both in and out of government for thirty years. There is no finer team that we could imagine bringing together.”
Also joining Torridon are Tara Helfman and John Coghlan, as partners; Chase Harrington and Kyle West, as associates; and former White House Counsel Fred Fielding and former Acting Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Tim Shea, as Of Counsel.
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Torridon Law is committed to upholding the values, collegiality, and client-focused ethos that traditionally have distinguished the law as a profession. With offices in Virginia and DC and experience that spans the globe, the Torridon Law team is dedicated to providing the top-flight legal service clients would expect on their most important matters from the largest national law firms, with all of the flexibility, creativity, and innovation the boutique model offers.
For more information:
www.torridonlaw.com
Contact:
Brandon Messian
bmessian@torridonlaw.com
202.249.6645
The team includes
William P. Barr: Barr served as Attorney General of the United States under Presidents George H.W. Bush (1991–1993) and Donald J. Trump (2019–2020), after having previously served in the CIA, the Reagan White House, and in the Department of Justice as Deputy Attorney General and assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. In the private sector, Barr served as general counsel to GTE Corp. and its successor company, Verizon Communications (1994–2008); a law firm partner; and a director at Dominion Energy Inc., Time Warner Inc., and other U.S. companies.
Ted Ullyot: Ullyot has had a distinguished legal career, during which he served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia; a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis; and as general counsel of a number of companies, including AOL Time Warner Europe, ESL Investments, Inc., and Facebook (2008–2013). After leaving Facebook a year after its successful IPO, he was a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, leading its policy and regulatory affairs team. In the government, he served as chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the Department of Justice and as associate counsel and deputy assistant to President George W. Bush.
Pat Cipollone: Cipollone served as Counsel to the President for President Donald J. Trump. As White House Counsel, he also worked closely with Cabinet members and all Executive Branch agencies; interacted extensively with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; and successfully led the defense team in the third impeachment trial of a U.S. President. In private practice, he spent most of his career as a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis and more recently served as a name partner in two nationally recognized litigation boutiques. Cipollone has an established reputation as a tenacious advocate, an artful negotiator, a gifted counselor, and a creative problem solver.
Pat Philbin: Philbin has gained deep experience in a broad range of matters from litigating disputes for Fortune 100 companies, to responding to congressional investigations, to crisis management involving front-page legal issues in over thirty years of practice. Philbin served as Deputy Counsel to President Donald J. Trump and served in numerous senior positions at the Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration, including as Associate Deputy Attorney General handling national security matters. In private practice, Philbin spent over fifteen years as a litigation partner at a major international law firm. Early in his career, Philbin served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Kate Todd: Todd previously served as Deputy Counsel to President Donald J. Trump and Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush. She also led the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was a partner at a leading law firm, and currently serves as a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Todd clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Fred Fielding: Fielding joins the firm as of counsel. He is an internationally known litigator, arbitrator, counselor, and strategic advisor. He served as White House Counsel to Presidents George W. Bush (2007–2009) and Ronald Reagan (1981–1986) and served in the Nixon White House as Deputy Counsel (1972–1974) and as Associate Counsel (1970–1972). Fielding also served as a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (commonly referred to as the 9/11 Commission).
Tim Shea: Shea joins the firm as of counsel. He previously served as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In the George H.W. Bush Administration, he served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice. His other government experience includes Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and Chief of the Public Protection Bureau for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. He was of counsel at a national law firm and before that represented Fortune 500 companies in high stakes investigations and complex litigation matters for 20 years at two international law firms.
Tara Helfman: Helfman is an accomplished litigator, counselor, and legal advisor who has held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Justice and in the White House. Helfman served as Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to the President during the administration of President Donald J. Trump. She also clerked for the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Helfman has held leadership positions in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She was a tenured professor at Syracuse University College of Law and a visiting scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. Her scholarship has been published in leading law journals and she is the co-author of Liberty and Union, a two-volume constitutional history of the United States.
John Coghlan: Coghlan leads the representation of clients in complex litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters. He recently held senior positions at the Department of Justice, the White House, and in a state Attorney General’s office. He served as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Mississippi from 2021 to 2022. Prior to that, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and an Associate Counsel to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office. Coghlan also clerked for the Honorable Ronald L. Buckwalter, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before his time in public service, he represented clients at a major international law firm.
Kyle West: West joins the firm as an associate. He served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Torts Branch as part of the Honors Program and as an associate at an internationally recognized law firm. He also served as a law clerk to Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section.
Chase Harrington: Harrington joins the firm as an associate. He served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, an attorney for the Special Inspector General of Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), and as Deputy Associate Counsel to the President during the administration of President Donald J. Trump. Before his time in government, he served as a law clerk for Judge Allison H. Eid of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After his clerkship, he worked as a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.