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Tom McDonald

Tom McDonald is an Equity Partner with the firm and heads its Government Policy Practice Group. Amb. McDonald also serves as the Hiring Partner for the firm’s Washington Office and is a member of the firmwide Policy Committee, the firm’s governing body. He concentrates his practice on governmental policy, both in Washington and internationally, as well as international law and arbitration. He also handles regulatory matters involving the U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments, including FCPA and OFAC issues.

Amb. McDonald has nearly 30 years of experience representing U.S. multinational corporations, manufacturers, major South African, U.K., and Japanese companies, banks, mutual fund companies, insurance companies and trade associations.

Amb. McDonald has a particular understanding of legal, political and economic issues of Africa, Asia, including South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe. On the international scene, Amb. McDonald regularly negotiates the successful resolution of legal matters and other disputes for U.S. multinationals and major South African companies in various countries. Several times a year, his practice takes him abroad to handle various matters in Africa, the United Kingdom, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Amb. McDonald was the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 1997-2001. He also served as a member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation to observe the 1996 national elections in Bosnia and as an advisor on the reforming of election laws in Cambodia and Kenya. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Council of American Ambassadors and the Maryland Governor’s International Advisory Council. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporate Council on Africa.