Brian A. Pomper offers public policy, political and strategic business advice to Fortune 500 and other companies, with a focus on international trade and intellectual property. He is also co-leader of the firm’s public law and policy practice and serves on the firm management committee.

Practice & Background

Mr. Pomper formerly served as chief international trade counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). In that role, he was responsible for advising Chairman Baucus and other members of the Senate Finance Committee on all aspects of the Committee’s international trade and economic agenda. 

In his current practice, Mr. Pomper represents companies before Congress, the White House and federal agencies on a diverse set of public policy matters, including market access, investment, international trade disputes, intellectual property, international tax and customs issues.

Mr. Pomper is a member of the U.S. patent bar.

Representative Matters

Mr. Pomper’s recent representations include:

  • advising biopharmaceutical companies on the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and lobbying in support of strong intellectual property protections in that agreement
  • strategizing and lobbying for numerous companies in support of the passage of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and permanent normal trade relations, or “PNTR,” for Russia
  • counseling a major automotive company on how to take advantage of the provisions of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
  • advising and lobbying for a coalition of companies in support of strong international intellectual property protections
  • offering strategic advice, intelligence and lobbying for a major U.S. agriculture company on trade, intellectual property and politics
  • advising and lobbying for an international insurance company on proposed changes to the U.S. tax code and their compliance with U.S. international trade commitments
  • serving as the executive director of a coalition of companies involved in public policy debates concerning the U.S. patent system, including during consideration and passage of the America Invents Act
  • intelligence gathering and advising a major U.S. agriculture commodity group on the status of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations and the U.S. Farm Bill
  • serving as the executive director of a coalition of importing companies involved in the debate concerning a U.S. Department of Agriculture marketing order
  • advising several corporations in utilizing U.S. trade preference programs in response to investment issues in developing countries
  • strategizing and lobbying for several U.S. companies having market access issues in China
  • intelligence gathering and advising a solar energy company on the progress of trade remedy antidumping and countervailing disputes on solar panel imports both in the United States and in Europe.

Community Involvement

Mr. Pomper serves as an adjunct professor teaching international trade policy and politics at George Washington’s Graduate School of Political Management. He was elected 2011 to serve a three-year term as a member of the Steering Committee for the International Law Section of the D.C. Bar. He also serves as an Educational Counselor for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for which he interviews students from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia applying to MIT.

Awards & Accolades

  • Recommended by The Legal 500 US in Government Relations, 2018
  • Recognized by Chambers USA in Government Relations, 2018
  • Named among The Hill’s Top Lobbyists in “Hired Guns”, 2017

Speaking Engagements

  • Global Trade Academy: Legal Foundations and New Directions, the WTO and Beyond, Institute of International Economic Law,” November 17, 2016
  • “TPP and Beyond: How Global Trade Agreements are Changing the Rules for Biologics and Biotech Products,” Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s BIO 2016 Conference, June 9, 2016
  • “The Impact of the Mid-Term Elections on U.S. Policy Towards East Asia,” Korea Economic Institute of America, November 6, 2014
  • “The FTAs and the Future of U.S. Trade Policy,” Global Business Dialogue and the Korea Economic Institute on the FTAs, October 18, 2011
  • “The Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Impact on Jobs, the Trade Deficit, and China,” Glover Park Group, October 4, 2011
  • “Navigating Washington,” Korea Economic Institute of America, September 7, 2011
  • “KORUS FTA and the Trade Agenda,” Center for Strategic & International Studies and Office of the Korea’s Chair, March 22, 2011
  • “Ratifying the KORUS FTA: What Lies on the Political Road Ahead,” Korea Economic Institute, July 13, 2010.