R. Bruce McLean is the chairman of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Under Mr. McLean's leadership, the firm has grown to rank among the largest law firms in the United States.

Before assuming the chairmanship of the firm, Mr. McLean spent more than 20 years litigating complex business cases in federal court, particularly those involving federal regulatory programs, energy issues, natural resources law and antitrust matters. From 1971 to 1973, prior to entering private practice, he was a lawyer with the Appellate Court Branch of the National Labor Relations Board. While at the Board, Mr. McLean argued more than 30 cases in the federal circuit courts and had primary responsibility for several landmark cases involving the availability of injunctive relief from government action.

Mr. McLean has handled a number of the largest cases ever litigated between American business and the federal government. He was lead counsel for one of the world's largest petroleum companies in an action that enjoined and overturned the $100 million conclusion of the Crude Oil Entitlements Program implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy. The decision saved the refining industry more than a half-billion dollars.  He served as lead counsel and negotiator for the U.S. refining industry in In Re Department of Energy Stripper Well Litigation. The matter concluded with a multibillion-dollar settlement among the U.S. government, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and seven classes of petroleum product users. He also separately represented several of the world's largest oil companies and a number of small refineries in the litigation and settlement of claims of regulatory violations brought by the U.S. Department of Energy.  Mr. McLean has also represented numerous other Fortune 500 clients in complex litigation. He has had significant experience in alternative dispute resolution, including minitrials, arbitrations and mediations.

In his role as litigation counsel, Mr. McLean has helped boards of directors analyze the risk of litigation in significant cases requiring board participation in decision making. He is a frequent speaker on the resolution of complex business disputes.

Mr. McLean chaired the firm's Washington litigation practice group from 1982 to 1994, during which time it grew from eight to more than 60 full-time litigators. He then headed the firmwide litigation practice group, which grew to 170 lawyers during his tenure. Mr. McLean has been a member of the firmwide management committee since 1979.

Mr. McLean received his B.A. in 1968 and his J.D. cum laude in 1971 from Indiana University in Bloomington. He attended law school on an I.U. School of Law Fellowship, earning membership in Order of the Coif and serving on the Indiana Law Journal. He has been a member of Indiana University's board of visitors since 1989. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Indiana Bars. 

Mr. McLean is a member of the executive committee of the Federal City Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving Washington, D.C., by helping local and federal government agencies meet community needs.  He serves by appointment of the District of Columbia Bar on the boards of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program and the District of Columbia Access to Justice Foundation.  He also serves on the board of visitors of the Georgetown University Law Center.  

Mr. McLean has been listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America since the guide's inception in 1983.